


Skylanders Academy: Our Beginning

by ChaosX97



Series: Skylanders Academy Trilogy [1]
Category: Skylanders - Fandom, Skylanders Academy (Cartoon)
Genre: Adventure, Friendship, Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-04-30 14:38:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 75,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14499174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaosX97/pseuds/ChaosX97
Summary: Two beings at odds with the world around them have their worlds collide. Skylander Academy, charged with the training of new generations of heroes, opens its doors to a cocky young dragon and a lonely boy who must come together with each other and their friends as those who will save the Skylands from a great threat. School is now in session.





	1. Lines Between

_I look up and think about a lot of things. Where I’ll go, what’s going to happen. But I think of you too._

_I think of how it might end, but I also remember how it all began. And it seems the same._

_Meeting you began it all for me, when I began in a place of endings…_

_._  

A pencil hovered and tapped down on nearly bare pages held by a boy sitting hunched before his desk. The weak light from the lamp watched silently as he made little scratches to the side and in between at every odd moment. The shadow of his hand blocked it, but his dull blue pupils saw the tip move down and wandered after a moment to every other corner and beyond the frame of his small workspace.

“Nothing today either…”

The room he sat in could be called as some symmetrical cavern, though even rock walls had more appeal. Lit by cloudy morning light, the white walls were an empty grid dotted with a few pages of half-drawn fantastical creatures. His bed sat perfectly straight in its coordinated space despite its unset covers, while his closet had a perfect row of unworn clothes. The clock on the walls ticking away the hours were the only hint of life, clanging away the constant silence.

He sighed out the air filling his thin features and lay his thoughts to rest, shutting the book. The title ‘Cody’s Journal’ was etched on the front in colorful letters, hidden away when placed on the small shelf. The red-headed namesake walked to his bed and laid down, eyelids drooping.

“Maybe tomorrow…”

The sounds of chirping stirred Cody towards the unusually straight branch near his window. He pulled his sleeve, shut his eyes, and turned away to let it drown out into silence. But as the sound went up the line to screeches, he scratched his head in defeat and towed himself to his window.

Shivering slightly at the cold that came after cracking it open, he spied a nest occupied with the source, a rare sight in winter of a red robin. The bird tilted its head and hopped closer towards the boy who expected the opposite the moment he flipped the latch. He had wondered how soon birds would return with the arrival of March and spring closing in and dared to open more while looking to his pocket.

“Here you go… You’re prob’ly hungry…” He sluggishly reached down and poured birdseed on the windowsill. It was the last from a bag that had spent a few years in a kitchen cupboard.

The bird tilted its head a few times while he reached to place seed on the branch’s edge. It startled back with the approach of his hand, then hopped bit by bit towards the seed. The boy stared as the small creature pecked at the offering, backing away as it came to the windowsill for its full share.

“You’re lucky…” he turned away. “You can fly wherever you want, not me… Maybe that’s better.”

He found himself locking eyes with the bird, almost listening. His thin fingers twitched and raised slightly, though it flew away before anything else. He sighed watching the bird flying straight ahead. Probably someplace where it could be alone now that it had gotten charity from him. 

The town he lived in was full of similar lines, every block made of perfect little squares with the snow folded and tucked away right by the sidewalks. Old brick townhomes almost melded together with archaic lampposts at the crosswalks, like photos from a history book. Like every other day he watched from his second-story, cars drove by at patient speeds and students headed to school in uniform and single file. He’d let his focus stray with the lines to some random aspect every day, and some aspect of that aspect before shutting the curtains and forgetting about it completely. All just blank space to him.

His line of thought was interrupted by a knock on the door. “Cody?”

He said nothing, and the door opened.

A young woman stepped in with curly red hair and a purple sweater almost blinding his eyes with color. She came forward with a smile like early spring and twinkling eyes past her glasses. “Hello, Cody. How are you doing today?”

“…Hi, Ms. Phillips.” He said with no expression whatsoever.

He turned away when her smile disappeared, but swore he saw her physically try to pull it up again. That just warded him away more. “You seem tired as usual. Getting ready for our lessons today, I’m sure.”

Cody returned to his desk without a word, walls up with the lock of his hands.

“Your dad sent me a message earlier, said he was going to be late at the office again. A police chief’s work is never done, I suppose.”

“…Mm-hm…”

She paused and reached out for the textbooks she had in her pink purse, trying to make eye contact with him as she went for the chair next to him. He only turned and hid again as snow beneath the shade avoiding the sun. He tried to pass it off as reaching for his papers from the desk, though huddled when he’d caught the sloppy handwriting and incomplete doodles scattered all across the surface.

“Well, why don’t we go over the first few problems?” She pushed her glasses up and read. “It’s okay if you had any kind of problems. Fractions can be a little difficult for most students.”

“…Mm-hm…”

“Good, we’ll start with this one: Greg had a pan of brownies. He gave a third to his friend Daniel and a sixth to his other friend Susan. How many brownies did Greg give away?”

“…Three.”

“Very good. How about the next one?” She turned the page. “A school wants to build a new playground. They decide to use a fourth of the ground…” His tutor’s voice was drowned out by more of that white noise in his head. It happened at times during their get togethers, though he didn’t want to admit that he was just wasting her time with it. “…Cody?”

He flinched. “…Um… the answer…”

She gave a small grin that he grimaced at. “A fourth for a baseball field and three eights for a jungle gym. How much is left for the nature walk they also want to build?”

“…Three eights.”

“Very good, Cody. I’m impressed.” She clapped. “How did you figure them all out so easily?”

He bowed down letting her praise bounce off his walls, hand shuffling papers. “I drew a little…”

“… Can I see?”

Cody kept his hand on the paper but made no resistance when Ms. Phillips took them from him. There were colors and shapes in different patterns strewn all over, but no numbers or any manner of discernible tie to an actual math problem. If he had glanced at it himself it would have made no more sense than it seemed to ultimately make to her, as she stared at the silent artist across from her.

“Like… the first one.” He muttered. “Blue squares are his, so red and yellow go to others. Fractions are bigger if they have smaller bottom numbers so…”

Ms. Phillips smiled again. “That’s very clever, Cody. Using your drawings to help you through the math problem. You must be very talented in drawing too.”

Cody looked to the wall drawings again. Most of them couldn’t be considered any better than the scribbles he had made on his notes, only straight lines trying to form something. He couldn’t say he was skilled or intelligent in terms of anything, especially not drawing. Hunching down spoke of that denial enough to his teacher, who frowned and tried to smile again.

“Well, let’s go ahead and move on to today’s lesson. Sound good?”

“…Mmm…” Both took their own textbooks and skimmed to the same page.

“Now last week’s lesson was about adding and subtracting fractions, which requires a common denominator. This week we’re covering multiplying and dividing fractions, which doesn’t need that. The proper way is to… Cody?”

The boy in question had returned to the same sagged position as earlier. The desk and pencil he let lay abandoned faded into a lifeless sketch of lines posing as the world in front of his empty gaze. His teacher had noticed and silently closed her book, kneeling by his side with a hand to the shoulder that was little more than flowing air.

“You’re doing it again...” She noted.

“…Sorry…”

“…I planned to save this until after we were done, but I think you’d be interested in this.” Ms. Phillips reached for her purse and pulled out a white tablet. Tapping on it, she showed an ad adorned to the brim with stars and big letters. “A meteor shower, tonight! The sky will be clearing up after 5:30 so you’ll be able to see it. Doesn’t that sound exciting?”

“Eh…”

“You know, they say rare events like this are good fortune, that they mean the start of something special…” She set her tablet down and walked over to an old photo on the wall, showing a forgotten time with a line of vibrant smiles sported by him and the young couple surrounding him. “It’s been five years. It’s… not much of a way for you to rejoin the world, but it beats staring at your desk all day.”

Good events and good itself were rare with all that passed time down to the recent days they spent together. He’d stretched and maintained the barrier between himself and everything else, and though that was the cost, he’d lived with it. The boy that sat alone in his room followed a straight line much like every other in this archaic town. To disturb something that worked in his opinion was, for lack of a better term, pointless.

He turned to the bed considering an early sleep as the preferable option, but the light would no doubt keep him awake. His scribbles were good clue that any drawing period wouldn’t last long enough. Looking to his teacher who had spared such time to come to his home and tutor him, he didn’t want to disappoint her either.

The words were still dragged from his mouth. “…I’ll think about it.”

* * *

 

Thoughts would be lost for the colossal stone stadium in the sky, completely unbound by walls, easily spanning the length of the town so far below all that was seeable beneath was endless blue. Under rows of multicolored banners, the stands were filled with every manner of creature that could or had graced the imagination, shouting caucuses of praise. There was no uniform control amongst them: every person and the cheers they cried out across the field were a singularity in themselves.

“All right, folks! Let’s see some love for your home teams, not to mention for the handsome devil in the announcer’s seat,” came the masculine voice of a mammalian creature atop the stands. “It’s a beautiful day for Skyball, wouldn’t ya say?”

The crowd, half composed of similar creatures to him, roared back.

“This is Flynn here, your favorite multitalented Mabu taking a break from flying the friendly skies of Skylands to bring you up to the minute action. In this corner we have us the visiting team! You know ‘em, you love ‘em, you look just like ‘em! Give it up for the Mabu Marauders!”

From the left entrance came a group of furry creatures looking the same as the other ‘Mabus’ and Flynn. The only differences were in fur color, green sports outfits, and the occasional alternation of spots. They leaped and posed together with gymnastic sequence that left their kind roaring their support.

“And in this corner, we got us the home team!” With that announcement came the cries of the other half of the crowd that had more notable variety. “These guys got skill, these guys got guts! In fact the only thing they don’t have is a more creative name! But let’s bring ‘em out here folks, what do you say!?” The crowd cheered again.

From the other entrance they surged in with all the elements at their side. A fish-man on a surge of water, a blue turtle with a spiny shell riding a whirlwind that also carried a wind-up toy with sharp pincers on sparkling burners, and a muscular man-shark from a plume of earth and dirt. They all posed and wave to encouraging shouts from their fellow random creatures. “Yeah, I bet I could take these guys before you’d even get to three.” Flynn bragged.

“Ey!” The shark shouted turning to the stands. “You wanna come down ‘n put yo money where yo’ mouth is, Mabu Man!?”

“Can’t hear you! Moving on!” Flynn rose. “We got us our teams, so let’s get to… wait. We, uh, missing one? Don’t suppose he called in sick or-“

Flynn was cut off by the crowd’s sudden awe at the flash of flames above their heads beaming down. A small purple blur charged with bold power and graceful aerial maneuvers of twists, turns, and loops vanquishing a perilous inferno of its own design. In its wake was a cape of smoke growing ever longer in the wake of an outstretched claw breaking through the burning lines. The blur came in close spinning and wrapping itself in ribbons of flame before shedding them off with a mighty burst, with the message ‘Spyro is awesome!’ behind him in white cloudy letters.

“Yo, yo, yo! What is UP, everybody?” Came a voice from the glow matching a second sun.

The blur came down with a crash and beat away the ensuing dust with a single flap, revealing a purple-scaled dragon standing tall with a stance that exuded spirit. His orange spines and horns glistened in the clear light, appearing as some heroic aura that made the fans go wild. He raised his head high towards the Mabus with the lines of screaming fans traced along the edges of his outstretched wings.

That line was stopped beyond his knowledge at a pair in the stands, a green skinned girl and a red rock creature with limbs. Their faces went fully monotone at the dragon and his entrance.

“He’s doing it again,” said the rock creature.

“Chill, Eruptor. We’ve put up with it this long.” The elf looked to him, or at least appeared to with her glowing pupils.

“And four more years of it are on the way, Stealth Elf! I’m gonna go volcanic!”

“Nice o’ you to join us, Mr. Stuntman!” Terrafin the man-shark chided the dragon, who was buffing his claws at the annoyance of the others. “You done with the halftime show?”

“Ease up, T-Man. Just givin’ the folks what they wanna see.” Spyro bragged. “Heroes gotta nail the entrance if they’re gonna make headlines, am I right?”

“Fool, I don’t care ‘bout your headlines! You gonna get’cha head in the game or-“

“What you need, my mouthy friend, is a healthy dose of sportsmanship. Sides, the halftime show was just a pre-show.” The dragon turned to the opposing team. “Here’s where the real entertainment starts... Although speaking of, do you think I could’ve added a little sizzle if I did some burst shots, maybe a few more Figure 8’s-”

“Well, there you have it folks, spelling out ‘ego’ in big, bold letters, it’s Spyro!” Flynn cut in. “They are your SKYLANDERS!”

All players took their positions, each staring down their opponents one by one. Spyro, however, stood tall against the Mabu opposite from him, smirking at the clear beads of sweat. Letting his attention wander from the game he winked at a group of females watching and sent them into faints. He then bared down and clenched the ground in his claws, casting the lines of action in his mind past the immobile players that placed the field under his complete dominion. His wings traced the motions, his mind accounting for every scenario to the goal, and he would be rendered untouchable.

The referee whistled and forward came a ball with glowing symbols, past all his mental lines. In less than a heartbeat he had slapped it into the air by the spine on his own tail. He bounced it on his head and let it roll down his back as he flipped in the air and swatted it into a goal.

“Goal!” Cried the Mabu in the stands.

“Lucky shot…” One of the Mabu players muttered.

The Mabu team had caught the ball and were rushing towards the opposing goal but were intercepted by a rushing harpoon shot and a sudden whirlwind that sucked in the gust. Warnado the turtle appeared spinning and swirling the ball up for fish-man Gill Grunt to spike down in a team play. But a purple swirl appeared within the wind and from above suddenly came Spyro, who stole the moment and zipped down to catch the ball and bounce it by his wing’s membrane.

“Hey! We’re on your team, remember?” Gill Grunt cried.

“And a bit of advice from your teammate, work on that reaction time!”

Spyro blasted forward and flip kicked the ball upward and twirled himself to launch it inverted. All any could follow in the breakneck zigzag that ensued was the burning trail of the ball gone aflame, unknown if by speed or actual dragonfire. It near launched a hole through the goal on the Mabu’s side once again.

The mechanized Wind-Up had been attempting to wrangle the ball from a Mabu with focused footplay that ended in the ball going airborne. Just as the toy Skylander sprang up to reach it, a set of claws beside his own snatched it away.

“Hey, no hands!” One of the Mabu cried.

“Four-legger!” Spyro smirked. “Want the rule book or anatomy book for that one?” Spyro laughed and sprang around himself with just the bones in his wings or the tip of his tail, earning wild cries with each bounce. The buzzer sounded again with another hard launch into the goal.

For some time the game continued like this, lines darting and clashing as the two teams entered close combat for the small orb. The Skylanders continued to ravage the field with a small array of natural disasters, leaving the Mabus to dodge tidal waves, tornadoes, and earthquakes by their hairs and steal the ball away. The ball followed no straight course while its symbols were set aglow in the chaos, intercepted by players on both sides who nearly came face to face with slaughter from the other side.

“Whoo-hoo!”

Then the dragon would fly in sporting a grin to his troubled teammates and some new display and the line would only be between him and the goal. Upon upturned earth he would strut in to swipe the ball, each movement frivolous yet firmly flawless seeping in between the defense like firelight. Every complex trick shot he had devised on the spot struck goal after goal despite the Mabu’s best efforts.

“Hey, hotshot!” Terrafin shouted to the dragon bopping the ball in the air. “In case your brain’s been getting’ mixed up pullin’ off those fancy moves, we’re still here!”

“T, come on. I’ve been rocking it all game and ‘fancy’s’ the best you can do? How ‘bout ‘incredible,’ ‘extreme,’ or just go with ‘unbelievable!’

“Oh, somethin’s unbelievable, alright!”

“There ya go! Come on, keep ‘em coming!”

“You been winking all game, so I know you got somethin’ in yo eye! We ain’t yo cheerleaders!” The others nodded in agreement.

The dragon spared them a sideways glance. “Well, hate to say it, but I’m kinda relieved. You don’t have the best material and I would really flip seeing you in a skirt!” He laughed and flew off, leaving Terrafin to growl.

The countdown was running and for Spyro it was another easy run to the buzzer. Every line he ran to victory fated so far, he took his time to breeze over with the ball spun on his wing tip. But for once the line was halted as the entire Mabu team swarmed him, no doubt rightfully seeing him as the true threat. Spyro swerved hard and passed the ball between his wings but kept his focus on the Mabus at the same time. Their flustered faces made the whole situation a game of keep away for him.

“Yo, Spyro!”

“I’m open! I’m open!”

“Fool, don’t just look! Pass the dang ball!”

Each of his abandoned teammates waved and shouted as much as they could from all around. The dragon just passed it off as more of the white noise that the cheers had become. He raised his head and shut his eyes, opening them at the ends of all the paths he had perceived.

“What’s he doing!?” Eruptor cried.

“Spyro! Pass the ball!” Stealth Elf cheered.

Like ropes they appeared but with the loss of outside shouts to the wind, Spyro saw them all vanish. As the mental net above broke down everything else faded into blurs of color. His eyes burst open and he whiplashed the ball into the air, then pinballed around each Mabu sending them into a spin. Just as the ball reached the highest point of its ascent, he had won the race with gravity and caught it in his own claws. Everything faded, and he was free at last.

There it was, the sky, endless and unfettered, blocked to him during the entire game but now the clouds almost parted as an open road to him. His heartbeat pounded looking into some straight road throughout and into infinity. He wondered if it did with a wonderous smile and a gleam in his eye, not even noticing his wings following his thoughts and flying further and further into it.

But he blinked, and reality reared in. The fans’ screams and Flynn’s recital of the final countdown for dramatic effect reached after him pulling him down.

“5! 4!”

The dragon dive-bombed towards the field, the ball held close. At the right distance, he released it and launched it with his tail again.

“3! 2!”

Everyone watched the sphere come down with meteoric force. Some bit their nails while others near suffocated.

“1!”

At the sound of the buzzer, the ball had crossed past the poles. It slammed into the net and drove right through the web, smashing into the wall behind it. The fans gasped and observed the small crater formed while the ball dropped to the ground.

Every voice in that stadium unified into an explosive roar on all sides, near shaking the stadium in their cacophony. Large metal cannons shot out glowing and sparkling orbs that burst into dazzling fireworks. The star shooter slammed down, returned to his tall stance and confident grin as the spectators cried out his name over and over.

“Skylanders win! Skylanders win!” Flynn screamed, though he quickly regained his own composure. “Uh, yeah… give ‘em the trophy.”

A massive golden cup was brought out before the Skylanders, polished and adorned with a wreath of flowers at the top. The dragon flew and landed inside the cup. “Alright. Some game, some hustle! Am I right, guys?”

The others hardly carried the sentiment of the fans, either displeased or outright furious in Terrafin’s case. “The heck was up with that?”

“What?”

“Don’t you ‘what’ me, fool! You spazzin’ out up there! We could’a lost the game ‘cuz o’ you!”

“T,T,T, where’s that sportsmanship?” Spyro shook his head. “Game’s about more than the final score, it’s all about the fun. And upping the cool factor with a last second game-winning shot from halfway to space, F-U-N, fun!”

“Cool factor!?” The shark creature fumed.

“Something to think about. Being a Skylander means you’re a one-hero show, especially once school’s out for good and you go active. Gotta prove you got the skills to give baddies the chills.”

“Not all Skylanders go solo, Skylander Solo.” Terrafin leaned in close. “An’ you better check past that long snout o’ yours and see you got a team backin’ you up or you won’t for much longer.”

Spyro shot back into the air. “Hey, I know I got a team. I mean, who else was gonna help me get the trophy home? I know you’ve been working out, T. So, who wants first touch?

The embittered group trudged away with bitter mumblings and completely faded from behind the dragon basking in the spotlight. He shot back into the air with another round of daredevil tricks and his own rounds of fireworks. But basking in the ring of victory, surrounded by praise turned routine, there was still only one thing that had kept his attention.

.

Sometime after the audience’s throats had started to go sore, Spyro returned by himself to the stadium entrance. He’d kept an eye on the trophy as he’d explained to Terrafin who’d returned, yet the man-shark only scowled and hoisted it across his shoulder before heading back. Leaning against the stone wall with blinding daylight at both sides, he polished his scales and gave a sigh to the face reflected. A possible trick of the light, he’d sworn the grin on his own face wasn’t there on the one staring back.

“Ah, Spyro. There you are.”

He’d pulled himself away from the sight of himself to catch the voice appearing from the small slit of shadows somehow there. An old man with a silvery beard, wise and powerful, in flowing robes came before him with his arms folded behind. The air he gave matched his gaze in terms of authority, or beyond emotion, an actual force came radiating from him, the dragon always noticed.

“Hey, Master Eon!” Spyro called and flew over. “Yeah, I was just thinking of heading out for some flying practice. Didn’t see you for most of the game there. I mean, I just noticed when I didn’t hear some voices cheering on their favorite dragon!”

“Apologies, my boy. I had matters to attend to at the Academy.” The old man warmly chuckled. “Though I was able to arrive near the end. Noticed your last shot.”

“Right, the big Spyro Sizzler. The Game-Saver. Trying to come up with a killer name for it.”

“Quite. Thought what I was perplexed with was the extended pause that led up to it. While I applaud the technique, and can say after training so many Skylanders that I do enjoy a bit of dramatization, I would be remiss if I did not say I had my share of concerns."

“You and Terrafin both.” The dragon rolled his eyes.

“Terrafin can be brash but I would be willing to leave it as just that were this an isolated incident.” He eyed the young dragon and came forward, who dropped to the floor with his wings gone limp. “It wasn’t one of your… urges again, was it?”

“Whaaaat? Pssh, no!” Spyro chuckled. “Just a… beautiful day today, like it always is.

Eon gave a glance at Spyro, who tried to look away but had returned to a direct glance in a second. His gaze returned to the sky just behind the sage man, calling him again into that radiant blue with no lines or boundaries at all. His wings were pulled up again almost by invisible strings, both had noticed, and beat slightly faster in raising him from the ground. His pupils were magnetized pulling him back and forth between Eon and the outside, though the grin maintained.

The old man leaned back to still stance once more. “Very well then… You’ll be pleased to know the weather tomorrow for your field trip will be just as pleasant. Though given it will be in the Falling Forest, I doubt you’ll have time to enjoy it.”

“We’re seriously going to the Falling Forest?” The dragon gasped. “Awesome! I am all fired up!”

“Don’t be too complacent, Spyro. The Forest is home to many vile creatures and mysteries. Be prepared for anything.”

“Hey, you might as well save your warnings for the forest, ‘cause there’s a new hero in town.” Spyro darted out, his voice echoing as he went farther out of sight. “The bold, the majestic, the ever-humble Spyro the Skylander!”

The old man followed him to the edge of the stadium entrance. The young dragon looked as giddy as he could for the duties of a hero. But he saw this optimism and gave a heavy glance.

“You’re not a Skylander yet…”


	2. To Another World

Time passed in a blink and night had fallen on the town. A few lit streetlamps and a sky dotted with violet remnants of overcast could make a world of difference, but it lost all sense after so many cycles of the same. Cody stared listlessly from the edge of his bed, the chill from the crack in the window telling him it was the same old town. His worn-out nightwear lay forgotten atop his pillow after pulling it out. Time itself was nearly given the same treatment, he just noticed, when the alarm by his bed spelled ‘10:00’ in bright red.

He looked out and down as much as he could down to the lot by his house. It lay vacant with the porchlight highlighting nothing but the wet cement. “Dad still isn’t home…”

That too was no sudden shift in the grand scheme. It was another late night where his father saw fit to help the part-timers and organize errant reports on littering and DUI incidents. Between the spare pillow brought from home and several meals he’d prepared, the man practically lived there now.

He’d dragged himself from his seat to grab his phone and scroll to his e-mail. The inbox was filled with only a handful of emails spanning the five years he’d secluded himself into his own home, and nearly all from his cheery tutor. At the top was an unread message in bold, marked with a familiar message.

_‘METEOR SHOWER TONIGHT’_

_‘Hi, Cody. Just a reminder not to miss the big show tonight.’_ It read. _‘Don’t go sleeping just yet! Ms. P’_

The boy blinked and passed his phone on the table by his bed. “I said I’d think about it. And I thought about it. Not interested…”

He made the walk to the bathroom and grabbed his toothbrush. The boy remembered strict words that it was proper etiquette to remain in the bathroom while doing his business, yet he was practically pulled back to his own space. Even between the short walk and the task of cleaning his desk’s messy surface of dust and errant items from the afternoon, the brush had barely made its third pass. He hadn’t even noticed his swallowing the foam.

“Uck…” He gagged. “Not again…”

The brush left his mouth and his hand went to his neck as he gagged, then to the head with another sigh. His attention must have been in shambles as he’d barely caught himself wandering towards the table with his phone to check the email once more. Scrolling down to the photo and the abundance of clipart, he rolled his eyes at his teacher’s tendency to overuse images in her messages.

Then again, it was her words that he recalled more than her habits. “Something good happening...”

He set the phone into his pocket.

“Fine…”

Everything else just as well blanked from history, he retook his seat at his bed and stared. The last wisps of cloud had completely faded, and the sky was now littered with stars peeking in one by one, gleaming each like the first to appear. It perked his notice for the first time in a while, especially when his teacher had likely based her report off guesswork forecasts.

But then it began, those crystalline shines falling down to earth, like Heaven itself smiling and gracing a stained world with treasures to place in the rough. He’d almost wanted to will tears to fall from his face along with them, even when he didn’t dare to blink. Still his mouth hung agape slightly with the tens of lights that fell by the second. It drew him to the edge of the window and his hand on the cold plastic just to see more.

The light that traced along his fingers and the windowsill was passed for Heaven itself, but he saw as the glow of a star from above. With eyes wide, he jumped out of the way. It struck the branch going down, crashing into the ground. He still could make out sparks pulling himself up.

The boy was still hyperventilating, able only to reach an inch for air, staring at the glass reflecting the attacking sky. His legs threatened to collapse and dragged like iron as he pulled himself up towards the windowsill. Bright blue sparks still lashed out from the piece of night that had somehow found its way to just a few inches from his porch. He went as pale as any of the stars remaining up there and hoped they would remain so.

“W-W-Wha…?"

Frantic chirping wrenched Cody’s attention away from the sight. The robin from that morning was there, bobbing up and down in the air above the branch. One of its wings wasn’t moving right as it started dropping more. He gasped, reached for a stray gray jacket, and raced down the hall. He nearly tumbled down the stairs to the front door.

The lock almost slipped in his hand, but he swung the door open. The bird had used up its strength and now plummeted. He dove and just caught the tiny creature an inch above the snow.

Cody breathed hard with steam puffing before the cringing bird and shook his head. “Something good happening…”

He rose and held the bird close to the chest, giving whatever futile protection he could from the cold with his jacket’s wool. Already he could feel the unnatural bend in one of its wings jutting along his finger pressing to keep it down. It shivered and rustled its feathers in his hand, even as he breathed deep to settle them both. He turned to his home and reached for the door. But that’s when he saw it.

The boy turned and inched to the glow just by the root of the tree, the small crater formed in the wake still steaming. From the center as the light finally began to dim, there lay the strangest rock he had ever seen, strange symbols around its surface and a luminous blue crystal in is center. The heartbeat like pulse only pounded on his own with the fear of some second attack.

Trembling, he picked it up, squinting with the strengthening glow but soon transfixed. For the first time in ages his heartbeat returned to normal, if agitated in its strangely slower pace.

“What… is this thing?”

Feathers turned in his other hand and Cody suddenly remembered the injured creature needing care. He stuffed the strange rock in his pocket and returned inside. He leaned against the shut door with his mind given the chance to catch up with events, his teacher’s words once again lingering.

Something interesting happened, that was for sure.

.

It was a welcome return to stability when Cody flipped the switch and fluorescent light revealed his kitchen. Of the few things he prided himself for, one most notable was how he could recall every detail of the room when he felt like a mouse in a mansion. In a practical biodome around a polished white marble table was a ring of drawers and cabinets, complete with several windows outlined with snow and a stainless-steel oven and refrigerator on both sides. Elaborate glass lamps hung overhead, giving him a good look at the bird’s singed, bent wing as he laid it on a towel on the counter.

“I-It’s okay… I, I can help…” He whispered.

He brushed the small creature’s limb, startling them both when it twitched and tried to fly away. He was forced to press down and grab it as it tried to fly. He flinched with every sudden movement, thinking the bird was likely to cause more harm to itself then he could to it.

Cody reached for a drawer beneath the countertop and pulled out a roll of gauze and two old popsicle sticks. A tray of birdseed and water were placed by the bird for it to feed at. His fingers brushed the feathers and squeezed the wing between the two sticks while he wrapped the gauze around. He was no doctor, he regretted, but the makeshift splint appeared to be applied correctly.

“Don’t try to flap around too much… a birdcage would be good, if I had one…”

There was nothing quite like a cage – walls to keep you in, and everyone else out.

He pulled away from the bird and reached for the pulsing stone in his pocket. His teacher spoke of wonders and beginnings, but a rock falling from the sky was hardly a change for the better in his opinion. Fortune offered him a rose only for another innocent creature to be pricked by the thorns. The bird that shivered on a towel in front of him couldn’t be free or well, possibly ever again. That was all any of this amounted to in the end.

He should be the one locked in a cage. Someone always suffered misfortune at his unintended hand. The past five years was enough to prove that one simple fact.

He turned to the bird downcast. “Ms. Phillips will be here tomorrow. I’ll ask her to get some medicine for you…”

The stone glowed again. He gasped and clenched his fingers around it as it went rebelliously hot in his hand, searing at the skin. He jerked his hand to toss it, yet the stone refused to be released. It shined with the strength of daylight and wind began to stir around the room, blowing towels and rattling utensils out of place. The bird frantically chirped over the swell of events.

Cody shielded his eyes and stepped back holding out the object. “W-What’s happening!?”

His scream echoed throughout the room with the surge of light. But soon enough it all stopped. There was no glow, no wind, no humming of the stone in the boy’s hand.

And there was no boy either.

* * *

Cody squinted to block the light, somehow still strong despite the lack of noise.

Though there suddenly was no lack of noise.

He expected the hum of fluorescent lights and wild chirps from his feathered patient. It had been replaced with the hum of insects and healthier tweets from every other direction. There was even the rustling of leaves in the wake of soft wind upon his sleeves and the odd crack of wood. All sounds out of place for an indoor kitchen.

But when he pulled his arms away and opened his eyes, he saw why.

His white kitchen had been replaced with a misty forest, walls switched with trees that enclosed him with grasping bone-thin branches. The grass and leaves were wilted and smelled of decay, while rocks that peeked out from amidst the weed-like bushes stood tall like tombstones. Backed against another tree, he choked feeling bark as hard as stone and breaking with the drag of his fingers. The more he looked at the scene, the wider his eyes went and the more he felt the air all this nature needed was needed in him.

The boy backed away with the stirrings of trembling throughout him. But his foot slipped on a rocky edge. And when he turned…

“AAH!”

He raced back and tripped. At the bottom was… no bottom. Just an endless drop of orange sky and clouds.

“What the… What’s going on!?” He looked back. “I-Is, this is, what!?”

He was in a spooky forest on an island in the sky. But islands didn’t float, at least not if the few geology lessons he had ever taught him anything. Then there was his kitchen. He was in a kitchen a moment ago. Now he was in a forest. The stone brought him to the forest. How could a stone do that? Was it a stone? It fell from the sky, or did it? Maybe it was a meteorite – a teleporting meteorite? That just sounded like something out of a bad sci-fi movie. Was he dreaming all of this? Or just plain going crazy?

Where was the stone?

Cody looked to his hand and there, going dim, was the incriminating piece of space rock behind it all. Whatever part of this was a dream and whatever part was reality was uncertain and irrelevant to him now. All he knew was he was someplace he didn’t know, and he had no way to get back.

What if there was no way back?

Cody peered at the uninviting landscape and wondered if this was just a new prison for him. Feeling that just made the scenery teeter-totter and spin and swing randomly in his view. He heaved feeling his head grow heavy and his vision grow black. Then everything finally keeled over.

He collapsed against the wood, with the glowing rock still in his palm.

Something interesting definitely happened.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is, chapter 2, folks. Not very long, I know, but it does provide the necessary setup and it means it got here that much sooner. Besides, the next chapter as it’s looking now promises to make up for the lack of length.
> 
> I’m sure those of you who know your Skylanders lore can tell what Cody found and where he is. Yes, things work a little differently here, and I’m hoping you’ll all stick around to see how thing play out. Next chapter we’ll be coming back to our favorite purple dragon and another very important character. 


	3. Discoveries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here is chapter three, folks. From our main baddie’s intro to the fated meeting between our two main characters. This is where things really start to move along.
> 
> In terms of writing, I’d like to say this is a big step forward for me. It’s not quite where I want it to be, but I think I am getting there. Most writers, especially the beginning ones like to use flowery words like something out of a Shakespeare book because it’s so enticing, and it makes you sound distinguished. But what’s important is that you try and stick to the POV of the character and portray their thoughts and emotions at every moment. That for whether you go 1st or 3rd person. If you want to make it sound better, probably save that for editing – it really does help to have another person read it though. Let me know what you think of my style in the reviews or a PM.
> 
> Anyways, that’s it for me. Next chapter is the outcome of this important face to face so stay tuned. 
> 
>  

“Glumshanks! Something interesting happened!”

Once again that discordant voice rang out, lashing upon the cracked walls of that gloomy tower on the small isle burdening the massive structure and its walls just next door. The bricks shuffled, bits of old mildew fell off, and the ominous clouds at its tip dispersed, but they all soon reformed. The withered structure never assumed much in status, from a mere hall of privacy to a container for endless tantrums. And the eerie castle to its side remained ever untouched and free of the burden.

From within, a green troll in rags came down the steps to meet the speaker. A diminutive figure pacing around the floor in a dragging black robe: bald with animal-like fangs jutting out a sneering lower jaw, and sporting a star-shaped birthmark upon his crown. His straying never went far from the makeshift throne with small gold statues daring to re-portray his gruesome features. A kingdom’s worth of pride and self-obsession was likely contained in that impish form.

“A pleasant morning to you as well, Lord Kaos. What is this interesting thing?” The troll Glumshanks drawled. “Have you finally learned to count past three? Discovered some curative hair tonic?... Finally decided to get a job and move out? Because any one of those things would be more along the lines of a miracle…”

“The real miracle will be if I don’t make you graze to mow the lawn again, you mutated wart!” He fumed. “No, recently something came to my attention. Somewhere out in the Skylands, a new presence just appeared, right out of the blue. Like, poof!”

“Well it’s an interesting fact, sir, but a new person is born every day. Odds are you sensed that. And by the by, do NOT ask me to explain where babies come from…”

“For your information, I know where babies come from. The mothers call the stork to get a big machine-“

“Best to stop that train of thought there before the inevitable wreck.”

“Fine!” Kaos catapulted towards the troll’s face, sinisterly tapping his fingers. “But I still have my concerns about this new power, newborn or not. It could be the emergence of another Sky-loser, and there’s enough of those pests running around. This could be a sign to move up my plans to destroy the Core of Light.”

“Ah, yes. The source of all magic and balance in the Skylands.”

“Exactly. The Ancients created it to preserve light and peace in the Skylands and keep the darkness at bay. The first Skylanders and Portal Masters used it during the Great War and for millennia since it has continued to serve that purpose.”

“Thank you for the history lesson, sir.” Glumshanks rolled his red-rimmed eyes. “…Even if one of us here actually did carry on with school and learned it himself.”

He turned and clenched a fist with a devilish grin gracing his jaw. “Imagine, Glumshanks! Imagine how it will be when I, Kaooooos, destroy the Core of Light and dominate the Skylands! All will fear my name, all will bow before me as the Ultimate Super Extreme Doom Master of Darkness!”

Glumshanks crossed his arms. “No one could forget a title like that, sir. Though I believe I meant to ask this before, but what are these aforementioned plans you spoke of to finally destroy the Core?”

“I am glad you asked, my witless troll servant!”

Kaos walked across the circular room to a board completely covered in scratch paper and string, the culmination of a lifetime dedicated to the cause of evil. Each was inspired from his servant’s prolonged suffering, and many dated back to his years in the tutelage of the finest and most devious scholars. When actually pitted against Skylanders, though, it led to many his eye ran across left trash-worthy like the crumpled pieces on the floor. But there were layers of ideas, and bits of information and footnotes demonstrating the mind many of his teachers praised as one that concocted with aims beyond simple torture. To his enemies’ dismay, he was not so easily defeated or dismayed.

“Let’s see…” Tension fueled his hand as he ripped a paper of him with a hammer from its spot. “I could get my mallet, go to the Core’s location, and SMASH IT TO PIECES!!!”

“Well, two things sir. One, I’m pretty sure when the Ancients designed the thing, they made it mallet-proof. And second, smashing on any level will be something of a challenge when we don’t know the Core’s location.”

Kaos stomped with a growl. “For once, you’re right…”

“For once…” Glumshanks huffed.

“Idea two, then!” He ripped another drawing, this time of himself in a square. “I mail myself to that old fool Eon at his Academy. But here’s the ruse – the package is labeled with a notice saying to send it to the Core of Light! He sends me there, then I DESTROY IT!!!”

“Where to begin with that one? The fact that Eon won’t be fooled or that we’ll rack up on postage?”

“ALL RIGHT, ALL RIGHT!!!” He snapped and stripped the board down to a large picture beneath depicting as much a fantasy as a plan. “Idea three! I bring Eon down and hold his beard hostage to get him to tell me where the Core is! He tells me, surprise! I ruin his dumb beard anyway, and then I DESTROY THE CORE! DESTROY, DESTROY, DESTROY!!!”

Blood racing, he ripped the drawing apart in his mad rant silencing the old man’s recalled grandiose speeches of peace in his mind with every tear. Inky black orbs formed in his hands underneath the shredded pieces, spiking and churning uncontrollably. The toxic smolder of dark magic in his body steamed and lifted the impish child, lost in a tantrum dissolving into madness, into the air. The orbs in answer morphed into black lightning bolts that surged out at every random moment. They struck the surfaces of the surrounding columns, chipping away pieces like punches to the face.

Glumshanks flinched trying to speak while dodging the bolts and debris. “Well, sir – ah! That would, gah, be quite the, TASK! Though that would put you, ya-haa, against the Skylanders too!”

“And there’s only one way that is going to end!”

Both turned and Kaos’s frenzy ended at the sight of a tall woman who appeared out of thin air at the top of the steps. The imposing robes she wore melded into her shadow that ran behind her that took life and bent against the will of the light flowing into the room over every inch of his workspace. Her stature unmoving, the woman floated down the steps, fine jewelry giving an inner glow hinting at the power that flowed right down to her elongated, dismissive fingertips.

“Lady Kaossandra.” Glumshanks stood at attention like Kaos noted he never did for him.

“Ah, Mother!” Kaos jerked open arms and gave the closest thing to a smile he could. “A pleasure to see you here in my humble lair, as always!”

“And as always, I’d hardly call it a pleasure being here.” He went tense at her surveying gaze, showing possibly less approval than she did before. “But just when I think I’m at rock bottom, here I am trying to talk sense into you.”

“What can I say? I am nothing if not driven as you well know…” He backed away holding the smile.

“Yes, with all the time you spend in this dump, I should hope you’re actually going somewhere with this. I certainly don’t see getting the outhouse back anytime soon.”

“Fair assessment…” Glumshanks grumbled.

“Oh yes, I have been quite the busy bee.” Kaos silenced the troll with a glare. “I know you have had concerns over the development of my powers, but let me allay those concerns now! With practice my power has grown, and I believe we’ll all be impressed with the results. Watch!”

Kaos held out an open hand and the same dark blob formed again, stealing the ambient light around. He peered past his side at his mother watching and the blob became less and less shapely while growing. He shoved it forward and it sailed only a few inches before completely fizzling out. The moment it did, the light returned and all that had changed in the room was the caster with a twitching eye.

“Oh yes,” Kaossandra clapped. “A little more and you’ll have flies trembling before you.”

“I have been getting better, I swear. Look around!” He gestured to the cracks in the columns. “Do you think I did that by making Glumshanks get rid of the old paint with his teeth? Which isn’t a bad idea now that I think of it?”

“What you do with your little troll is none of my business, so let’s just keep it that way.”

“Mother, don’t you see!?” Kaos blocked her path as she turned. “I need to go and attack the Core of Light! A new presence has appeared in the Skylands and it may mean the Skylanders are gathering new forces. Before those fools can get any stronger we need to make our move! So, please, please, can I destroy the Core of Light? Pretty please with sprinkles and rat poison on top?”

The woman raised her hand and Kaos’s body became stiff and light all at once. Without control he was lifted in the air by a violet aura from his mother’s palm and set to the side at the bottom of the steps. She turned to him again with a wrinkle-heightening frown. “I know about this new presence, I know that you know, and you can beg all you want, though please don’t. You are not to approach it or the Core of Light. By any means.”

“But mother!”

“Do not ‘but mother’ me, young man! I am fighting the urge to gag as I say this, but I want you here, under my watch. The Skylanders will be there at the Falling Forest, and you are no match for them.” She finally walked away, her shadow again looming on the wall before vanishing.

The unnoticed troll finally stepped up while his master returned to his board of ideas. “…I suppose you’d be willing to listen for a change of pace, sir?”

“Hm, what was that? I wasn’t listening.” Kaos made the trudge up to his throne. He gripped at the armrests, scowl deepening and eyes narrowing.

“’Why were trolls born with mouths?’ he looked to the stars and asked with the embers of frustration stirring.”

“As much as it kills me, the Core will have to wait. The Sky-losers are the problem right now and if they are looking for this new power then I need to beat them to it.” He rose from his throne and trudged his way back down with his arms folded. “Luckily my mother let slip that it’s located in the Falling Forest. I have some friends there that I’m sure will be willing to lend me a hand in this endeavor.”

“You mean the Greebles, sir?” Glumshanks gave the most emotion he had all morning and cocked an eye. “Those foul-mouthed, uncouth vagabonds?”

“The very same.” Kaos exclaimed. “Though ‘friends’ is a strong word. I suppose ‘servants’ fits the description more.”

“Just as long as there’s a line somewhere there, sir…”

Kaos walked up to the steps where his mother stood and let the remnants of that powerful aura flow throughout him. The comparison between the two of them was as stark as where he stood versus his hundreds of desires on paper behind him. A wave of her hand and realms fell before his mother’s power; he could only dream of such dominating force while cursed with feeble powers that made him nothing more than a laughingstock. The bones in his fingers cracked as he still envisioned a future beyond the humiliation, when one day his fingers would course with even greater power. Power enough to make the focus of those many sketches behind him reality.

“I will destroy the Core of Light, as it is my destiny to plunge the Skylands into eternal darkness! My evil legend begins here! All shall know the name of the Dark Portal Master, KAAOOOOSSS!!!” He laughed manically, the sound filling the single hall once again.

“Very good, sir…”

“Save the flattery, Glumshanks. I still feel like punishing you. The lair could use a new paint job, so GET THOSE CHOMPERS READY!”

“Ugh…”

* * *

Spyro pried open an eyelid viewing the orange morning sky, stifling a groan just as heavy. His arm swung from the railing of a large flying boat with his claw lazily tracing circles in the air while the other kept his head from dropping on the wood. If he closed his eyes again and gave some slow wing flaps, he could have imagined he was taking a peaceful flight of his own instead of being trapped on this dragging tub.

“Now you might want to hold onto your appendages, kiddos.” Called the familiar voice of Flynn from the steering wheel. “This little maneuver takes a bit more control.”

He’d performed aerial maneuvers nothing short of death-defying, going in a straight line could hardly be considered difficult. It was a surprise when the ship moved away from a passing cloud, hinting the ship was in motion. Ten minutes later, though, and that same cloud was still in sight.

At least his classmates found ways to pass the time – his teammates Wind-Up and Gill Grunt were chatting the long hours away discussing strategies for the next game. Other classmates Hex the Undead sorceress draped in black and two fellow female dragons, crystal-lined Flashwing and unicorn hybrid Whirlwind were enjoying what he only guessed as girl talk. There were his roommates Stealth Elf and Eruptor taking their time in researching the assignment, however pointless he found it. And everyone, no matter what they were doing, were for self-explanatory reasons keeping their distance from the back of the boat where Bad Breath was handling a round of air sickness.

Spyro shook his head and tapped the railing, though his clacking claws kept him from hearing the creaking footsteps behind. “A bit of discontent with the field trip, Cadet Spyro?”

The dragon turned to the rough stare of an eagle man, hands folded behind him, as stiff and dull as the worn blue armor he was clad in, bombarded with scratches. He stood perfectly at attention, his talons piercing the planks he stepped on, almost intolerant of the ground. He swore the aged bird was made of some metal as his bristled feathers looked like blades with his neck raised looking down on him.

Spyro smiled. “Oh, hey. What up, JV?”

“That’s ‘Professor Jet-Vac’ to you! Formal reference has just as much a reason for being around as flight regulation!”

“Of course, of course…” He tapped the railing more letting his pupils wander.

“At attention, cadet!” Jet-Vac scolded. “Eon may give your lollygagging a free pass but don’t expect the same courtesy with me! When I am speaking I expect eyes on me, just as I’ve got my eye on you! And what’s more, I expect you to keep whatever crass comments you might have to yourself!”

“Shouldn’t that be for after I actually say something?” The dragon cocked a playful brow at the birdman, who huffed and marched away.

With the warzone between the two of them clear, Eruptor trudged up and Stealth Elf popped in from the background dust clearly resisting the urge to shake their heads. Spyro went as earnest as possible with what he liked to call ‘the cute dragon’ to aid the effort. Their looks slapped down his charity remaining the same. “You might want to cut the class clown act, Spyro. You’ve caused enough trouble with Jet-Vac,” advised the green elf.

“Moi? When have I ever been, quote-on-quote, a troublemaker?”

Their silence was an open scrapbook to the many times Spyro found himself faced with a pointing talon from his teacher. Though in his defense being on the receiving end of disciplinary action by Jet-Vac was about as easy as counting to ten when he’d been sent to the corner as a young dragon. Coming in even five seconds late, coughing in class, a single smudge on assignments, so that left his own list of cutting class altogether and pulling pranks on the old bird. It was no different from any other class, but Jet-Vac and his love for rigidity and rules took special offense.

“Okay, aside from a few rotting lizard gizzards I got from that place a few isles down, I mean what can I say?” The dragon scoffed hopping on the railing. “Classrooms don’t really work for me. I’m a learn by doing type.”

“You’ve been on the Skyball team since we started school and you still go and hog the spotlight, so I know that’s a load of magma!” Eruptor glared. “You know I talked with Gill n’ Wind-Up and they’re still sore over that last game!”

“As sore as you were when that rogue sheep headbutted you down that hill three times?”

“You wanna know what made me really sore about that? When you dropped laughing every time!” The cracks between Eruptor’s stones glowed. “Lemme tell ya, pal! NOT! HELPFUL!”

“Hey, I carried you to the nurse’s! And as for the game, the guys were still working on some big plays and they weren’t gonna be ready for the playoffs!” He laid back with his arms folded behind him, not even looking at the two. “I did them a solid, ‘cause you know, that’s just me being a good teammate.”

“Uh, that’s not really what teamwork is.” Elf spoke.

“Well, it’s fine. They can’t be sore once we get to the Falling Forest and see some action.” He sprung from his position down in front of them. “I’m itching for some myself, so hopefully we can get there sometime between now and graduation. Personally speaking, even a half-hour ago would have been preferable.”

“Before that, Spyro, I’m hoping you can spare some precious time for a lesson,” came the familiar voice of Jet-Vac, marching forward again. “Students!”

Before the dragon could blink he was hoisted up by his own Skyball teammates. Gill to his left and Wind-Up to the right took him from his spot and forward to where the birdman was waiting. “Hey, whoa! Easy!”

“What? We figured our star player would love being carried around.” Gill grumbled.

“You don’t have to grind your gears over the royal treatment.” Wind-Up added.

“Hope you don’t mind being stuck with… eerrrpp… the rest of us,” came a gravelly voice from the back. All the dragon had to do was give a sniff of the rancid puff of air to guess who.

“Oh, come on! Bad Breath too!? That’s just cruel!”

“Whatever it takes to get you to pay attention in my class.” Jet Vac called out as the dragon was brought inches before him. Seeing no way of escape he huddled in, tapping his claws and flapping his tail stewing. He huffed at his teacher’s raised beak.

“Now then, if I may continue. The Skylands are vast and infinite in their geography, as many of you who come from corners both near and far off can attest. Various areas here are where different sources of elemental energy can be found – these same elements, of course, powering our own abilities as we too fall in alignment to them. Knowing your element and your capabilities is key to mastering your abilities and becoming a proper Skylander. Magic is everywhere here in the Skylands, which is what enables said abilities, and…”

The long-winded speech hardly got through to Spyro who was fighting the urge to fall asleep. None of it was any new information that hadn’t been shown to him as a hatchling by Master Eon’s guiding hand anyway. The dragon was a quick study, he always told people, and it was no exaggeration as the knowledge of heroism and the world in which it was needed always just came to him. Regardless of what anyone said, he’d achieved the mantle before ever setting foot in the halls of Skylander Academy. Cracking an eye at the sky behind and all around, he was firm in that there was nothing else he needed to learn that he couldn’t discover for himself. He was ready to be a Skylander now.

“Cadet Spyro!”

“Uh, ready! Here! Ten-four, roger!”

“Terribly sorry you find my class so boring but since this is most likely all review to you, I wonder if you’d care to answer a question for the rest of the class.”

That sounded like a challenge. He smirked. “Fire away, teach.”

Jet-Vac frowned. “Right. Pop quiz: All areas in the Skylands have their own element, and areas within those areas that fall under certain elements of their own. What elements are located in our destination, the Falling Forest?”

The dragon scoffed; it wasn’t a challenge after all. “Yeeeaaaah, let’s see. The Falling Forest is chock full of Life, which you can probably guess based on all the trees. Let’s see, you’ve got the Owl’s Roost, which goes with the Tech element, Pinecone’s Landing which sticks with Life, and the Acorn Stash which uh… oh, right. That’d be Earth territory. Thank you, thank you, hold your applause.”

The others would have been irked or impressed had it not been for their stifled chuckles at Stealth Elf’s impersonation of him. Jet Vac was nowhere near as amused, with either of their attitudes it seemed, though Stealth Elf returned to full attention the moment his sight crossed with her. He turned to the other students with a huff and continued his lesson, leaving Spyro to fidget in place once again.

The unruly dragon whispered into Stealth Elf’s ear next to him. “Hey. Seeing as that was ‘review,’ I think we can both agree that I don’t really need to be here.”

“Please tell me you’re not saying what I think you’re saying…” The elf glared.

“I’m just gonna take off and… get the jump on this assignment, no big deal.”

“Very big deal, brainiac.” Eruptor seethed from the other side. “This is a group assignment! That means we’re supposed to stick together.”

“Besides, in case you forgot, you’re not on Jet-Vac’s good side right now. He’s watching you.”

“That’s where you guys come in.” He wrapped his arms and wings around them both. “All you gotta do is make a little scene. JV and the class notice, and I make my brilliant escape. Feel free to fall back on the classic ‘look over there’ gag. Believe it or not he still falls for that one.”

“Oh, so suddenly ‘Spyro the Great’ is asking his unworthy entourage for help? What an honor...” Eruptor grumbled.

“I want to say it’s a step in the right direction.” Elf muttered. “Though you are trying to cut class here, again.”

“Not cutting, I said ‘getting the jump.’ We’re just doing recon, so I’ll take a quick fly-by around the area. I’ll fill you in on what I find so you can add it to your report. Huh? Come on, guys, help a dragon out.” The dragon went puppy-eyed at the elf, probably the tougher critic of the two. She glared and grabbed him by the horn.

“I’m only doing this because you begged, but just this one time. And I expect nothing less than A-worthy intel…”

Though in pain from the sudden seize, Spyro remained as cool and in control as always and gave a wink to her. Elf released his horn and he backed away and gave a nod to Eruptor. The living rock sighed and cleared his throat and took a deep breath, then spewed a sudden column of magma in the air. It sent the other students to the floor and stopped Jet-Vac’s word dead in his throat. With his chance in sight, Spyro leaped off the side of the boat with no one the wiser.

“WHAT!? Only rock creatures got impulses?”

.

A smile spread on Spyro’s face drifting through the fresh air, its length almost as infinite as the bare expanse. The smell of airship exhaust and repression was cleared from his nostrils for the first time in too long. Flipping upside down he bathed in those sweet golden rays working their sweet rejuvenating magic on his stiff wing joints as he stretched them out. He could swear there was a crack.

On a current of morning breezes, the dragon flowed along paddling his arms. His scales skimmed the surfaces of clouds as he bounced along the way, the cool moisture sending shivers down his form. He twirled and sailed in serene rings halfway down chuckling and letting his wings go limp curling along the larger cloud banks. No voices, no peers to butt in, no need for time to go by in a blink as he preferred. He breathed in and plummeted into the depths of an ocean of freedom, with the wish it could last forever.

For it was up above, on his own, where he felt on top of the world.

A blast of air hit Spyro’s face and the dragon snapped to life accelerating. The clouds had gathered into a massive obstacle course where he swung, vaulted and whirled grazing them by the grit of his scales. His wings went straight like swords leveling them and carving sharp lines into their forms. He blinked as one stubborn cluster flew in his way and he crashed through shaking off the mist, glaring at the rest with a dangerous smile.

The dragon went into attack mode scooping wind into his wings and disintegrated an unlucky clump of cloud cluttering his airspace into mist. Flowing on momentum, claws bared, he launched an uppercut towards one above, then a spin into one more with a tail whip. The count piled in a ring of combo strikes in a stylized dragon martial art, and the daring finish of shooting upward into a massive bank. In seconds the cluster was consumed in a halo of bright flame.

“Woo-hoo!” the blaring cheer came with all the breath he had to spare. “Let’s see ‘Greatest Flyer Ever’ Flynn pull that off!”

But at the sight of the massive isle with scores of trees, it all stopped. Hundreds of miles in the air, panting hard from the rush of pretend combat and school life came back with a vengeance. He was used to it; the flashes of life uninhibited before the annoying recall years were waiting before he could forever savor it.

Never one to be hindered, the dragon crashed to the ground. He smirked at how his heroic pose caught just the right angle of sunlight to send enemies fleeing. Head high, he marched into the thick of the Falling Forest.

Aside from the areas he mentioned, much of the Falling Forest remained a mystery to anyone standing opposite villainy. Timid bystanders had given it many names: 'The Forest of Fiends,' 'Haunted Hollows,' and the dramatic 'That Which Must Not Be Named.' But Spyro only shook his head when remembering those names had been given by Mabus who thought a twig snapping was some horrific entity from beyond the grave. The only truly terrifying thing in his opinion was how trees couldn't stay up for more than a week here. The Falling Forest was named solely for its too-fragile nature.

Spyro walked further, mist and gloom beginning to form at his feet, and he heard those same rustlings. His scales went on edge, sensing a hint of danger at every corner. He crouched low and tensed his limbs like springs ready to pounce.

"Well, well, well. This oughta be fun."

At once he burst at the bush to his right, then the tree to his left, then the rock going forward. With sharp grunts he pounced at every speck in his path on the way to… something lying in wait. And it smelled strange, familiar yet at the same time, like something entirely new.

.

The surrounding scenery began to look less like a forest to Cody’s wide eyes as his steps forward became less straightened. He’d hardly developed a sense of time after cooping himself up in his own home for so long, but he had guessed some time had passed since his little… spell. Wandering, he flinched away at every new sound that came up, two steps back and sideways for every half-step forward. He tried to hide behind trees but quickly returned to the path when some new sound came from behind.

“W-What do I do?... Maybe…”

He reached for his phone inside his pocket hoping the miracle that was GPS could help shed some light on his current predicament. But when his fingers brushed on wool when grasping for the familiar metal, he realized with a grimace he made the mistake of leaving his phone at home. He wanted to slap himself for being the cautious person he was yet forgetting to keep his phone on his person as he’d been instructed. Just one more mistake for the list.

“Of all the times… I had to pick now to be a total space case?”

So to summarize, he was in some unknown forest in the air with no means of knowing just where he was and no way of contacting anyone for help. The wooziness came back tenfold bringing him down by a small rock underneath a tree with little to no foliage. He dragged his head around at the scenery and sounds and wondered if it was something he now had to become accustomed to.

If he had to have a prison he preferred it to be his little room where he could stay and do nothing, with no strange sounds or stones, all of technology’s benefits and sweet silence. Not some bungle of disturbing trees hiding something that could likely swallow his skinny frame in one gulp.

Cody crouched in with tears forming. This was probably where he was going to die.

A crack louder than any other he had heard in all the miserable time he had been here sounded behind him. He scurried back wondering the predator that fate had marked for him had come sooner than expected. But even with that thought in mind, he grabbed the nearest rock and waited at the edge of the grass, gulping.

“Come on… looking for a…. Show yourself…!”

The boy looked around frantically, swearing he saw movement. He couldn’t say he was looking for death. His grip slipped with that thought and he shut his eyes shuddering.

“The name’s… I am…”

He couldn’t do this. But… trying was better than nothing.

.

The dragon raised his wings at the top of a massive tree and glided down. He gained speed and crashed once again. The plants shook from the force, almost cowering themselves as he hoped his hiding enemy would.

“Come on, any bad guys around looking for a butt-whooping? Show yourself and I’ll at least make it quick!”

Spyro leapt into the branch of another tree and cast his gaze down into the thick. Twitching at the silence he whipped his tail on the bark, cleaving the end and bringing it to the ground. He raised his wings to their furthest.

“The name’s Spyro the Dragon! I am a Skylander!”

The bushes were right in sight and his cry had caught the attention of whatever was hiding in there. His eyes went focused and he leapt down into the thick. His smile ever present, he crept slowly, through each blade of glass with silent crackles under his claws. Further through the thick undaunted by their irritating rubs blocking the way, until he spotted something gazing back, an arm raised.

And the two came face to face. 


	4. The Fated Meeting

_When I first met you, a lot of things were going on in my head. When we spoke, it just left me with plenty more._

_Who you really were, just what kind of person I was talking to was… up in the air._

_._

“Aah!” The boy screamed.

“Aah!” He screamed back.

“Aah!”

“Aah!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

Both leapt back into the nearest cover they could find. For Spyro, it was into the thick grass where he crouched low and blended in. He had just caught the hand of the other sneaking behind the curved tree. The dragon panted hard, and steeled himself with an ember-filled huff once the shock had passed, blocking out the decomposing scent of the foliage. He pressed his head to the ground, rocks and roots hard on his scales, but kept his claws firm in the dirt waiting for movement.

There was the sound of the other’s short breaths kept silent and the stench of sweat running down his face when Spyro tuned in. Stirring from the grass, he caught an arm gripping onto the tree that needed no focus to see the heavy trembling. A breeze had rolled in, just the touch cracking the bark of the branches with jutted-out edges like spines, sending them both back. The minutes passed, with the plants rustling in a tense silence, shook occasionally by more trees collapsing or the cry of some creature varied in distance; he swore nature was messing with them. And the only move made by the other was to hide more.

While it was a reaction he expected from any enemy, he could hardly call this one, a kid he guessed, hostile. In fact, there wasn’t much he could call him – a face and body like what he saw wasn’t exactly the norm in the Skylands. And for the Skylands, that was saying something.

A fallen red leaf landed on his nose and he twitched it away, realizing then that his wildfire nerves had suddenly simmered. He raised his head and peered past the leaves following to where his sight would always go. Like a jet some old-new flame was igniting in his chest, and with a couple of blinks it sucked the tightness right out of his claws.

There was much Spyro could say he had seen in his life, but most of what filled that list was pictures from a book. Pictures and words that described them as the tallest or hottest or farthest of something, and from there he would let his imagination do the work. But his wings would always get dull with fantasy alone, when he knew they were given to him to take him places and show him things he had never seen. He wanted new, some great thrill he couldn’t count on the typical 5 classes a day to bring. Right now, he realized, that was right behind that tree.

He needed to get a closer look at that boy. The dragon’s whole body near incinerated, he jumped from the leaves and tiptoed not so peacefully out. Even so, he stayed put while stretching his neck out as far as possible.

“Hey!” He called. “Come on out. I’m not gonna bite.”

After the few extra seconds Spyro raked at the ground, the boy finally peeked out. He stared back wide eyed and clearly holding his breath, giving Spyro the chance to take his whole form in. His clothing stuck out at first, that purple shirt drawing his eye in particular: the deep color matching his own polished scales made it like those regal robes he’d seen Eon wear. But it was covered by the shadow of that raggedy old jacket he tugged at, nearly ripping the sleeve.

He yelped when Spyro dashed forward stopping just an inch from collision. “Whoooaaa… what the heck are you?”

“A-Ah-“

“You look a lot like Master Eon, but smaller and with a lot less facial hair. I’m pretty sure this is flesh you’ve got but wow, I almost didn’t think skin could get that pale.” He leaned in close and began to hover all around. “Some bags you’ve got there – I could carry groceries in those things. Might want to get some shut eye sometime.” From the face he flipped behind and raised his right arm. “And gee, what thin limbs you have, but I guess all the better to fit into… very worn clothing with. I mean, I like a guy who believes in recycling but come on.” He sniffed again, making the boy flinch. “You know you don’t have to flinch all the time. I said I wasn’t gonna bite and I’m not sniffing you for taste, if you’re wondering.”

“W-W-W-What is… y-y-you’re a… w-wha-“

“I take it you’ve never seen a dragon before? Well I mean, seriously doubt you’ve seen one this good-lookin’!”

“A d-dragon…” He muttered. “A t-t-talking dragon?”

“Hey, talking is but one of my numerous talents! Breathing fire, smashing boulders, flying, this genuine article can pull out all the stops!”

“W-Wha…”

“Oh, right. Sorry, I usually go by titles like ‘amazing’ or ‘incredible’ from my many admirers, but you can call me Spyro!” He zipped to the ground and struck a pose at the mention of his name. He gave a silent nod to return the introduction. “Feel free to slap one of those on at the end, though!”

Before the boy was able to get a few words out, but now he was down to mere whimpers. The reception became even worse when soon enough, he just let his jaw hang open with shock that he could see was slowly dissolving into fear. Spyro grimaced with the possibility that he would just go back to hiding behind the tree again or worse, run off in panic and risk hurting himself or falling off the edge.

Never once did the dragon think leaving people speechless would work against him. But every minute the boy remained silent was age-long moments of Spyro’s eyes bulging, goosebumps forming between his scales, or his insides burning themselves all over for a peep. Even then there were only more animal calls to break the revived silence he felt could be better filled with answers to his rapidly rising questions. Already his mind was roused into some outer frontier with wild ideas, and real answers, he felt, could come no sooner even if he spiraled around the boy until time started speeding up. Maintaining his beaming that now felt near mechanical, he hoped at some point something would flip a switch and get the boy to talk. If only there was a way to just reach in and pull the secrets right out.

His feverish curiosity was given relief with the kid’s relaxed shoulders once he sat down. Spyro blinked and rose again only for the boy to go tense, and relaxed again once he sat once more. It seemed he could flex a claw and this kid might scream, and there was an unsteady wobble in his knees. Spyro wanted to pinball along the oak of every tree, but he would only react well to a cute, well-behaved dragon welcoming him to a land of sunshine and rainbows.

Too much high-maintenance for his taste.

“Soooo… yeah.” The dragon rolled his eyes. “Spyro. And you are…?”

“Y-Y-You’re talking…” The boy finally forced out from a blurt to mutterings. “I, I’m dreaming. That’s it. This is all just one big, wacky dream. Note to self: leftovers and fantasy books are not a good combination.”

“Hey, trust me kid, you’re not dreaming. Take a good look, you’re here, I’m here, we’re both here.”

“But… you’re a dragon! Dragons aren’t real. This has to be some-some kind of hallucination. Maybe I’ve been sleeping too much and this is some crazy daydream or-OW!”

Spyro had pinched him. He swore it wasn’t as hard as the boy was making it out to be though. “Believe me now?”

“That really hurt. So then… this is really happening... I’m too scared to scream.” The boy’s eyes wandered. “But if this is real, then… where am I?”

“Folks around these parts call it the Falling Forest.” He leapt and flew around encompassing the whole of the area. “Not the best case for a vacation, or field trip in this case, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Falling… Forest?”

“Yeah, you know, part of the Skylands?” The dragon tilted his head.

“The what-lands?”

“Not what, Sky. Skylands, land in the sky. Lots of land, but a whole lot more sky.”

“I don’t know what that is.” He shied away and grasped his jacket. “I_I don’t know how I even got here in the first place.”

Spyro blinked circling around. “Uh, seriously? You don’t know how you ended up here? I mean it’s obvious by now you’re not a local but come on. It’s not like you just went poof, out of nowhere, and suddenly ended up here.”

“No… I think… I think I’m lost.”

Spyro froze. “Wait, lost? Did you say ‘lost?’”

“Um… yes?”

The dragon skipped a beat closer grabbing the other’s tense shoulders again. “As in, lost lost? As in, you’re in trouble? As in you’re classified as a person or party in distress and need of assistance, possibly of the heroic variety? That’s where you’re going with this!?”

“I’m not… going anywhere,” he looked away. “But… yes?”

“YES!” Spyro shot into the air with loops and turns by the second. The laughing that went with it was so happy it bordered on manic.

“This is perfect! A mysterious kid from who knows where AND he’s in trouble? It’s practically a search and rescue mission, only without the searching! I just gotta help get him back home, and then Eon and the others are gonna be so impressed! Then they’ll have to make me a Skylander! And when I’m a Skylander I can finally get out of that stinkin’ school! What should be first on the old post-grad travel list, Leviathan Lagoon, Quicksilver Valley? Maybe even that old Arkeyan Armory! Oh, who cares, just think! No more textbooks, no more lousy mess hall food, no more rules, no more curfew, heck no more Jet-Vac!!”

“Uh…” The boy called out with surprisingly high volume from the ground. Spyro had been so caught in his ramblings and panting from zigzagging so much he just noticed.

“Oh! Was I… saying all that out loud?”

“Y-Yes…?” The boy shied away and huddled into himself again. He had only known him for a few minutes and Spyro could already tell that was something of a habit for him. It was hard to hold onto his own energy when the boy’s sullen looks were casting out a bubble that was killing his good vibes. “Thanks for… offering, but I don’t know if you can help… I probably deserve this anyway. Not how I pictured this, but…”

“Say what?”

Once again, the boy remained silent. Clearly, he didn’t count on the good hearing of most dragons.

“Oh-kay, I think you’ve been in distress a little too long. We better get you back home before rain clouds start sprouting on top of your head.” With the aid of flapping wings, he pulled the near-weightless boy to his feet. He grasped his shoulders and forced him down when the boy wobbled on his feet. Like he was on fire the boy pulled away, but he still grinned. “I’m starting to think I should just call you ‘Flinchy,’ since I don’t know if I’m ever gonna get an actual name out of you.” He bumped his shoulder. “Last chance, kid.”

“Um… my name’s… C-Cody…”

The dragon blinked; he wasn’t expecting an answer. “Cody, huh? Short and sweet, I like it. But maybe try putting a little style on it, like ‘Code,’ the ‘Code-Man’, ‘Bro-Code’…

For once, the forest was paid no mind, Spyro rambling on and on as the two started their trek down the nearby path. The Falling Forest went as it always did, trees crashed and animals chirped, but his loud volume blurted them all out. Cody still jumped at every sound, though that had become common, but he still stood out. For once, Spyro thought, there was something new. And that made the dragon’s spirits bright marching on.

* * *

 

Cody must have had his own thoughts, but Spyro would say he was crazy. Panic-fueled thoughts at most, because he would say that they were lost. But they weren’t.

Fog had started to loom in, and the woods had taken a turn for the creepier, calm chips and whistles had turned into menacing screeches and pungent rot now surged up Spyro’s nostrils. Grinning wide he couldn’t help but pounce, slide, soar over and climb on every part of the scenery once again. He bounded between the walls of trees between their road and vanished into the leaves of a nearby one. Spyro would have called it 'exploration.'

It had barely been an hour’s walk and the orange hue of morning was replaced with paint-thick grayness leaving shadows barely visible. The husks of weeds and large rocks outnumbering the trees that had long-since collapsed and rotted in this suddenly more foreboding area wasn’t much for scenery either. Still, it beat a lecture in a classroom or mountains of homework covering the same. The thrill of it all making his scales stand on end was worth apparently losing all sense of time as he always seemed to.

He peeked his head out, sending leaves falling. “Hey! You know what the cool part is about coming this far out into another island?”

“What?”

“You never know when something’s gonna jump out at you just asking for some third-degree burns!” He leaped onto another branch and back onto the ground. “Wouldn’t a real villain or some kind of horrible monster be just like the cherry on top for this whole thing!?”

“Not really…”

Spyro smiled. “Ever the unbending rock, huh? Suit yourself.”

Cody himself had become more silent, no longer being startled at every noise, though was breathing hard in place of words when trying to keep up. How this boy lacked any kind of sense of adventure that was only natural given his circumstances was lost on him. As far as Spyro was concerned every dying shrub was a red carpet to reality that he was desperate to walk.

“I’m gonna look around. When you’re out in the field, it’s always a good tip to stay aware of the territory. Pretty basic stuff.” He jumped up into the air and scanned his surroundings.

It was a long expanse of reds and greys blending in on each other, a murky sky atop oversized, rattling twigs sprouting from the ground. But there was also that thin howling breeze that sent his scales buzzing, and the fine line of orange daylight beneath the clouds at the horizon catching his eye, dazzling and all-encompassing, like it reached out to the end of eternity. An end was a beginning, but a beginning was also an end, a thought so confusing and yet breathtaking as it came to him.

Though his earliest memories from when he had hatched were on this island, he had never ventured this far into it. Some random patch of woodland had been the only taste of the world he’d had before Eon found him and carted him away for the sake of harnessing potential. And while he was grateful, it likely wouldn’t be long before he’d have to go back to his prison of higher learning and the next chance to see it would be during the next school year.

Though he had almost forgotten the chance was closer than he thought. The dragon blinked and looked down at his red-headed ticket to freedom, returning to his side.

“So… Code! where’d you say your home was, again?”

“I don’t think you’ll find it. I wouldn’t even bother looking.”

Spyro landed down quick as a wink. “You wouldn’t want to underestimate these peepers, you know. I once spotted Master Eon doing beard-ups halfway across the Academy one time, you know.”

“Still… there’s no point. I don’t think I’m anywhere near my home.” Cody walked to the sturdiest stone he could find and sat. “All I know is I find this weird shooting star that crashes in my yard, and the next thing I know, I’m here.”

“Well if that’s your story and you’re sticking to it… sounds like there’s no time for permission slips!” Spyro burst into the air again with a toothy smile. “As a wise dragon once told himself in the mirror, when you’re a hero you sometimes end up getting the short end of the stick. And as much as I love dropping jaws and blowing minds at school I am willing to sacrifice of myself in the name of civic duty! And I won’t take no for an answer!”

“But… I’m causing you problems…” He turned away.

Spyro turned to face him again. “Hey, if that’s what you’re worried about, there is one way you can make it up to me. I mean, when all this is over, if you could provide something like, I don’t know, testimony regarding that I was willing to selflessly protect you from danger to get you back safe and sound?”

“…Maybe I should just go…”

“WHAT!?” A weight suddenly fell on the dragon’s shoulders, bringing him and his elation down to ground again. “Nononono, you-you can’t! If you go, how am I supposed to get… I mean, who’s gonna help you get home?”

Cody’s eyes strayed from the dragon’s piercing plead. “Uh… what about that Master Eon guy you keep mentioning? He sounds pretty important.”

“Eon?”

“I-I mean… you call him ‘Master,’ so… he must know something…”

The dragon went stiff and locked his jaws. He’d rather not let an angry burst of fire follow the unintentional information slip out. Still his wings fell flat, and he drew lazy circles in the ground. “Uh, well… yeah. I mean, Master Eon is the one who leads all the Skylanders and built Skylander Academy so he could train new ones. He’s fought in a bunch of wars and he protects all the Skylands and he’s a pretty powerful wizard overall.”

“REALLY!?” A voice called. “You think he’s more powerful than me!?”

The two bared down at the sudden sound, Cody falling on his rear. From atop a large rock overlooking the area the overhead grew darker with the figure that loomed up. Kaos, his arms folded behind them, gave a wicked face-crunching smirk that Spyro only snarled at with his mouth searing with building flame.

Kaos snapped his fingers and from out of nearly every crack came disgusting creatures with bulbous eyes and oversized limbs, all coated in various colors of flesh. They chattered and growled and chuckled all around, some swinging from the trees and others hopping in place. The two looked around seeing no escape, surrounded by scores of the creatures that increased by the second.

“Imagine my luck!” The evil child cackled. “I come here to investigate the appearance of a new power, and I find a Skylander to destroy as well! And it’s not even my birthday!”

“Oh, yeah?” Spyro smiled, suddenly as giddy as he was earlier. “Imagine my surprise when I’m out of the gym and I find another dummy for target practice!”

“Dummy? How dare you call the great Kaos a target dummy!”

“Hey, can you blame me with that decorated cranium of yours? Surprised you don’t rent yourself out for birthday parties, kids love balloons!”

The two had switched roles and now Kaos was the one fuming while Spyro was smirking on the verge of laughter. “Here this you glorified salamander! I am _Kaaaaoooossss_ , the most evil and powerful Portal Master to have ever come to the Skylands! You will know my name and fear it!”

“Really?” The dragon cocked an eyebrow snickering. “’Cause we tend to rank some of the problems we got here in the Skylands. I think you’re right there between plumbing problems and infestations.”

“WHAT!? I don’t even rank up there with littering!?”

By then Spyro was rolling on the ground laughing. Cody had been watching the exchange and clearly wasn’t able to make heads or tails of it. Even in his fit the dragon could see as much, and note his enemy’s hired help was joining him in mocking the evil child. He stopped at the roar that came from atop the rock, accompanied by flashes of lightning, still snickering.

“So, Eon and his Skylanders don’t see me as a threat! In that case, let me change that!” He pointed forward. “Greebles, attack!”

Spyro bared down menacingly but with a wide smile. “…Mess with the dragon, you get the flame!”

The Greebles charged at once, but Spyro flipped into the air. It became a multicolored mess when the Greebles collided into each other. Cody himself had to roll out of the way and take cover behind a nearby tree. A Greeble came and tried to strike with a club, earning a scream. His attacker only gave half a chuckle before having its neck wrapped with a scaly noose and being slammed left and right. Spyro tossed his enemy towards the other, striking down another bunch of them. He zoomed forward and gave a successive launch of fireballs like meteors that had the Greebles running.

The dragon backstroked inches in the air along the scores of Greebles, each making his way with their clubs raised from ground or leaping from the trees. Without even looking the dragon would turn hard leaving the creatures to slam into each other. Before long the entire army had been cast into confusion and was ejected by a horn slam or a stream of flame from their single opponent.

Cody had been watching and nearly tearing the bark with tense fingers. “You know, speaking of target dummies you’re actually looking at some more!”

He looked up to see the dragon hopscotching along the trees, ducking and leaping at odd branches. Greebles reaching for him would only headbutt each other before falling. Somehow the threat of capture and injury had dodged him, and he was treating it as little more than recess.

“Wha…”

“Yeah, Super-Skull’s henchmen here? You can literally order these guys by the dozen from that ‘Minions Monthly’ catalog! That’s what bad guys get for advertising to the entire free world!” He laughed.

Cody blinked.

“We order these guys ourselves back at the Academy! Like I said, training dummies.” He flew in close, distractedly grabbing and slamming another victim. “Between you and me… oh, what the hey, we might as well let Mr. Evil Portal Master of Evil know, honestly the straw copies are way tougher. At least then there’s the threat of allergies!”

The dragon started breathing in, holding a claw to his nostrils, feigning a sneeze. Instead of air, another fireball the size of a boulder came surging and leaving toasted Greebles in its wake. It collided with a tree next to Kaos, setting off a massive explosion. Suddenly the evil child was knocked from his perch, and the dragon cheered with small loops and his own aerial victory dance, ending with his name in big flaming letters and a dramatic, muscle-flexing pose.

“Oh yeah! Spyro for the win, baby!”

Kaos growled from the ground. “So this dragon has more than hot air! It matters not!”

“You know no one likes a sore loser so why don’t you take your own hot air and fly home, balloon boy?” He landed on the ground checking his claws. “I think I hear your mommy calling, anyway.”

“Hahaha! Don’t make me laugh as I did just at that moment! I’ll have you know that my mother never calls me!” Kaos dusted his robe free of dirt. “And to further the update, I’m not done! It’s true that Greebles are up for hire and I’ve been saving my allowance so there’s plenty more where this round came from! Minions, come forth and attack!”

But even with his shrill command, nothing happened. The only Greebles out on the battlefield were the ones pummeled, singed, and unconscious. The three still present looked around for any sign that the hilarious carnage would continue, but nothing.

“What the- Where are my-?”

He turned to the rock again with the sound of mumbling. Peeking behind, there was Glumshanks with the second round of his attack force. “And so I told the director ‘you can’t expect me to play Demetrius! The portrayal of this character and the subtext reinforcing it is in direct contrast with the themes you’re trying to incorporate. I don’t care if you did graduate from some major playwright school, the fact that a philistine like you thinks he can go around and,’ well, I think any true fan of the theatre would know where I’m going with-“

“GLUMSHANKS! I am trying to lead an evil army and take over the world here!” He pulled the troll by the ear. “Now give me my minions back or you’ll be center stage for a real-life tragedy!”

“Wonderful use of word play, sir…”

Kaos only growled and snapped his fingers, sending the Greebles loose. Spyro leapt and launched a series of fireballs at them, bringing them down. He’d heard their shuffling and the troll’s talking before Kaos had even mentioned them.

But…

“Aaah!”

The dragon nearly jumped out of his scales hearing Cody’s scream from behind him. The boy had been seized by another pack of Greebles and forced to his knees. “L-let go!”

“Hey!” Spyro tried to move forward but had his tail dragged back by another Greeble. Soon he himself was pinned down by two more. They jumped on him and seize his wings so he had no chance of escape.

Spyro growled and struggled grasping for the nearest rock as Kaos strutted over with a smirk. What he thought was an easy victory had turned into a hostage situation brought about by opponents any real Skylander would have beaten blindfolded. He felt his head yanked up by the horns to see the wicked child make his way over to Cody. All he could appreciate then was that his classmates were nowhere nearby to watch a blunder that never should have happened.

“Well that took longer than expected, but I guess all’s well that ends bad.” He glanced back at Spyro. “It seems I’ve been dealing with a cadet all this time. A true Skylander would have known not to let his guard down.”

“You little-!”

Kaos laughed and turned to the terrified Cody, lifting him by the chin with an electrified finger. He hummed forcing Cody’s face back and forth. “There can be no doubt now. The power I was sensing was you… though I’m finding it a little hard to believe. I had thought it was something serious… but there’s nothing special about you at all, is there? Oh well! Might as well take the chance to destroy your friend over there!”

His hands glowed and Spyro’s scales went vibrant with the glow of purple lightning around him. Pain coursed through him like thousands of needles stabbing him over and over. No part of his body would respond to him, unbending like lifeless metal, to give the jerk before him a solid blow to his cranium.

“Skylander or cadet, let it be known that you never stood a chance against me. You were a confident one, and you can take greater pride in knowing you were the first of many. Now, to end you!”

Spyro was lifted into the air, forcing open his eyes as his limbs had only begun to move with his continued struggling. His insides screamed with the surges of dark magic, and all around were cackles from the Greebles eager for the satisfaction of seeing him rent apart. But he would break free. He had proven to anyone who had denied that he was ready for whatever challenge the Skylands had to throw at him. Terrifying power was meant to snuff out his flame as Kaos wanted, but it burned instead with the thrill of the moment in the young dragon, managing a grin with focus on the vision of the eventual overturn. 

Forcing open his eyes, he could make out Cody’s face watching scared in a series of blurs. It was alright, Spyro thought, the boy would just be that much more surprised and in awe himself when he broke free. But just when he’d nearly regained full control of his arms...

“NO!”

Cody’s scream forced his vision into clarity. A bright purple flash appeared all around the young boy’s body pulsing and stirring a gust around him. In an instant it expanded into a purple field. The shockwave blasted all the Greebles away and even Kaos, knocking them in all directions into trees, rocks, and bushes. As quick as it came, the shockwave dissolved.

The boy stared at his hands, and Spyro, freed and fallen onto the ground, only stared at him, both undoubtedly with the same thought.

“What just happened?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, well, well. It seems Kaos got what he wanted and more. And things have taken a turn in the grand scheme of things now that the two stars of the show have finally met.
> 
> At least I hope thoughts of what next have stirred in you all. Honestly, I’m not too sure if this chapter went exactly the way I wanted it to. Probably because I didn’t have too clear a vision here as I did with other parts of the story. I could just be the fact that I’m comparing my writing style to others’ too much and it came out clunky as a result or that this chapter just didn’t have as much an impact as I wanted it to. Then again, all that I can do is reflect on what went wrong and improve it for the chapters ahead; meanwhile you guys can tell me what you thought of things yourselves.
> 
> Of course I won’t try and provide baseless justification for any mistakes I made, but I will try and point out my thought process if anyone is curious for how things went. Overall, I don’t know if I can say I am fully satisfied since everything didn’t go exactly according to plan, but in a sense maybe I am happy that this still followed the general gist that fits in with the story overall.
> 
> As always, review, favorite, follow! What could happen next now that things have gotten to this point? Keep following to see! Chaos away!


	5. A Portal Master

Spyro didn’t quite catch who spoke the question, the only summary for the situation. Maybe it was him, but he couldn’t even recall. Like time had been stopped his body, rooted by claw into the dirt, had gone numb to the multiple spasms racing through. The lingering echoes of Cody’s scream ringing in his ears had all but accomplished the impossible and held him still for the first time in his life.

His still active pupils went streaking across the area, making sense of it all like one of Jet-Vac’s dreaded lessons. The trees nervously gripped their own leaves to not let a single fall while the outgrown weeds went stiff like steel. And in the center was Cody, whimpering, within a ring of seared and blown-out dust and leaves with scattered sparks surging out. His pupils raced with the specks of light as they appeared, the chase waking his own thoughts with silent breaths of awe as the sound of ignition. The dragon’s muscles buzzing, he took a revitalized step forward casting his gaze around.

From the bushes, pained groans brought Spyro’s attention back to Kaos and the Greebles, their bodies splattered across the clearing and lost in the foliage. Many of them showed no signs of moving, he noted darting quicker amongst them, having been knocked unconscious. A quick look was all he cared to take as their stench wouldn’t have given any better answers.

“I-I, wha, h-how did, how did-“

Behind him, it seemed Cody was just now breaking from the stun himself. And Spyro was finally brought back into full reality with an instant replay of a timid boy unleashing a force that blew a legion of villains everywhere. At that mental checkpoint his entire form had gone into overdrive, accelerating with thoughts and a rush of energy beyond anything he had conceived before.

The dragon could hardly contain himself and charged over, swirling around the boy rattling his tense shoulders. “Well, check you out, tough guy! I didn’t know you could use magic!”

Cody’s eyes shot open, but he couldn’t utter a word. His spell might have taken all the force out of him.

“Though I guess a trial by fire’s the best way to figure that sort of thing out.” He gave Cody a nudge in the shoulder. “Got some distance with that forcefield. I can still see the sheen from Mega-Melon’s skull but you could spot that from the other end of the Skylands, so points!”

It wasn’t as impressive as anything he could have done, an accurate assumption in the case of raw talent versus skill. But far be it from the dragon to rain on the parade in progress.

“Yes, points… now allow me to even the score!”

Their foe emerged from the shrubs, but the sheen Spyro had mentioned was lost in clods of dirt all over his head and robe with the odd twig or leaf sticking out. Clearly winded, he trudged forward unstable and breathing hard, a dark orb the size of an acorn formed spluttering in his hand. It was an almost pitiful sight, but any Skylander, including Spyro himself, could say that Kaos had a talent in rebounding, if nothing else.

“You sure you want to keep doing this?” Spyro still joked with a smirk. “I mean you look like you’re ready for the final buzzer, and I’m still here so, well, game over.”

“I am nothing if not persistent, little dragon...”

“Don’t go limiting yourself there, pal. Just don’t expect anything flattering.”

Kaos scoffed while a fraction of his Greeble attack force came forward behind him with their clubs as crutches. “It seems my miscalculation was a miscalculation, or it wasn’t a miscalculation, unless I miscalculated that and- oh, whatever! I can see clearly that boy is every bit the nuisance I predicted him to be when I first sensed him, so best to nip this in the bud! I will conquer all of Skylands, and not you, nor him, nor anyone will stand in my way!”

“How ‘bout I **fly** in your way!”

Spyro took to the skies as Kaos’s orbs struck his takeoff point missing Cody by a hair. The dragon darted left and right to dodge the speedy rounds, dust trailing along his wingtips like ribbons. His pulse revived to top speed, with Kaos’s temper a close second if that building scowl Spyro grimaced at with a grin was hint. His dodges quickly became more stylized, adding twirls and spins when that surprising speed was sacrificing accuracy.

“Do you need glasses or something?” He started peppering his dodges with quips adding insult to non-injury. “Almost grazed a scale there, hotshot!”

“Shoot!” Kaos fumed.

“Best idea you’ve had since ever!”

Clicking his tongue, Spyro gained altitude and began launching fireballs at lightning speed. His engine went full blast as he revolved near uncontrollably in the air, setting the sky alight with a full-on meteor shower of flame. Greebles ran in terror from the onslaught, setting explosions on every square inch of woodland that soon left the creatures with no choice but to jump for a hopeful blind spot. Not even one was that lucky, near vanishing in the bright blasts.

Charred-black and smoking, the remaining Greebles all dropped their clubs and ran not nearly as fast as they wished they could. Kaos’s scowl burned into his flesh harder watching them all passing. Soon enough, his army was a thing of the past, leaving Spyro with the non-challenge of the evil child alone.

Glumshanks, who had vanished in Spyro’s heated counterattack, peeked his head from the bushes. “Well, sir, none can deny that this was a valiant, though some would possibly add inane or suicidal, effort. This has certainly done wonders for your track record. Now if we could explore the possibility of retreating…?”

“Retreat!? I don’t know the meaning of the word!”

“That’s one more for the list, I suppose…”

“I am Kaaaoooosss!” He cried with dark lightning crackling in his hands, levitating to Spyro’s level. “I am the ultimate evil! I will not be vanquished by some conceited cadet with chili pepper breath! I am the one who does the vanquishing! And when I vanquish you and your trembling ward I will bring darkness and destruction to the Skylands, and then I will indisputably be the Ultimate Vanquisher of-“

“Bored now!” Spyro shouted.

The dragon launched a boulder sized fireball forward, crashing into Kaos. The evil child was sent out of the Falling Forest like a scorching shooting star, screaming all the way until his shrill call faded in distance. His troll servant merely gave a sigh, muttering as he walked into the forest.

“Aaawwww, YEAH!!”

The dragon’s scream called all the light in existence in a spotlight and rain of stars to his pinballing across the forest and self-praising smoke signals. The roars of an imaginary crowd rang in his ears cheering his name. His victory over a recognized threat to the Skylands was the crossing of that great finish line teachers tried to keep out of sight until after grueling years of study and training that his skill had gained him a timesaver for. All that was really missing to complete the moment was some manner of actual award or victory fanfare.

Instead, all he got was another weak whimper from Cody, still completely frozen staring at the ground, and likely wasn’t even watching. At any other moment he wouldn’t have taken offense, but this win was practically a graduation. The dragon shot down and landed right by the boy’s side with a smile and a slap on the back.

“Yo, Skylands to Code! There’s a party going on here and you must have missed the invitation!”

Cody blinked, as if Spyro’s voice brought him back from some distant realm.

“Oh… I get the silence, you sweetheart.” Spyro flew behind and shook the young boy’s shoulders, heightening his mumbles. “You were probably running over your big congratulatory speech for me! I know we just met, like, in a single previous chapter of our lives one might say, but you probably have a lot of thoughts. If you’re still workshopping it, let me just give some pointers, like feel free to go heavy on adjectives and give the imagination a whirl, just anything that-“

“… I should go.”

Spyro’s jaw dropped. “Wait, wha?”

Cody struggled getting back on his feet. Spyro had figured it was just from awe. “Talking dragons, floating islands, troll-things, that’s… one thing. But me using, m-magic? No. Just, no…”

“Okay, so you let loose some magical forcefield that sent half a dozen Greebles to Kingdom Come, big deal!” Spyro smiled as composed as he could manage.

“Yes! A very big deal!”

“Welcome to the Skylands, then!” His voice might have raised an octave. “Between dragons and trolls and floating, magic’s just par for the course, right?

“Believe it or not, magic isn’t considered normal where I come from!”

“But it’s all good, you just gotta, just gotta close your eyes, slap your cheeks three times and think ‘there’s no place like home!’ Right?” Cody began to turn back into the thick while Spyro made an unsteady blockade of his body moving about. “Hey, hey! I’m trying to help you out here, civic duty and whatever, remember?”

Cody turned around. “How? I don’t think either of us has any idea what’s happening. I barely even get how or why this even happened, and…” Cody didn’t even lock eyes or speak his own concerns out of clear restraint, but his words, spoken or not somehow still carried the same weight. “So… so what is your plan?”

And there was the blowout bringing him down wide-eyed and sweating to ground level.

That glorious drive into the winner’s circle turned into a trip just before crossing, leaving the thrill of victory to seep out and make way for humiliation. There was a plan, he was mentally yelling to that imaginary crowd, to Cody, and to a familiar reflection behind him. A certain drill sergeant of a teacher had yelled in his ears more than once of the value of strategy and he had the headaches to prove it. It was just his method for the finer details of a plan to fall into place as he went along. For the timid boy to suggest anything with that worried stare was adding insult to infuriation.

Clearly there was something being lost in translation, because guiding a lost child home was, as far as Spyro was concerned, community service. Heroism simplified, the message of “you can be a hero, too” to starry-eyed wallflowers and what little came from that. A Skylander could delegate the task to an ordinary citizen while they handled the messier task of defending the realm from infestations to the threat of Armageddon. A plan for an act of goodwill was, to be honest, making a mountain out of a molehill.

But still, after all that inner bravado, no answer. And prospects for anything beyond were slipping from his claws.

So, hard-pressed as he was, Spyro just let his lips move and words come out.

“I could tell you my plan.” He stared almost bored with a smirk just naturally forming on his face again. “But it seems like you’ve got better ideas. So I’m gonna just let you figure it out.”

Cody blinked. “…Huh?”

“Yeah, I’ve done my best to help, even tossed in bodyguard duties free of charge. You ask me, that’s some five-star service right there.” Spyro mimicked the boy and turned away. “But I mean, ppht, I can tell when I’m not meeting expectations, so I guess what you’re really saying is my service is no longer required.”

“B-But…”

“Yeah, I try and help a nice-looking kid and all I get is guff, but such is life. I guess all I have to say now is… see you.” Spyro gave another light jab. “You’ve got places you want to be and obviously you don’t need my help to get there. You can pull off magic, unless it was just the one time, so you’re clearly ready for whatever this place has got to throw at you, possibly.”

The breeze began to stir again. Spyro brushed his claws on his chest without giving hint of the slightest care, and for a while could catch hesitant whimpers from the boy behind. He doubted it would be long before Cody could swallow it down and be brought to his knees ready for his aid.

But all he got was the shuffling of feet, the vanished mumbles, and rustling bushes. He turned and saw the boy vanishing into the woods following his lead in not looking back. He watched the boy with an eye twitch and clenching claws.

Seriously!? It was a bluff!

“Hey! Hey, wait a second!”

His shouts only spurred Cody to run and soon his form vanished into the woods. Taking off again, Spyro tried to scan him from above the line of trees, but nature had to spring into life with another tree falling in the worst possible time and place in front of him, because soon enough Cody was gone. Spyro was left to hover above the leaves with suddenly softened claws and the beginnings of a headache.

“Oh-kaayy, definitely not one of my better ideas.”

* * *

 Trudging past wooden corpses for so long it was a mixed feeling for Cody as he ran into fully secluded shade and collapsed. At first glance it was the closest thing he could find to his room - dark, quiet, a place where his thoughts could freely roam. Though he remained aware it was the same strange forest in some alternate world when he settled on a dead chunk of log pulling into himself.

That only became more apparent when he raised his head from his arms. The light from the gaps in the leaves going blinding white between darkest black, the chirping of insects raised to deafening screeching, all the mixtures of scents like spears through his nostrils. Every shadow, every piece of matter around him was alien, paralyzing, teetering between what was and what he wished could be. Shutting his eyes and ears and leaning into his knees as overcome as he was only helped so much.

When did this skyrocket of insanity begin? Maybe it was when he decided to play hero and save some little bird that could have easily flown or survived on its own. It could have also been when curiosity poked its head through the door and he’d foolishly picked up that stone that warped him away.

Either way, it was for the best that he ran, Spyro and his intentions, whatever they were, meaningless. He was a bad luck charm, spreading inconvenience on any level, no matter who on the receiving end. What to his irritation escaped people was that it was the reason he was willing to stay locked away and forgotten in his room, for the rest of his life if necessary. And now that it seemed he could somehow use magic, no matter how he tried to wrap his head around that, that reason was reinforced.

Not only was he troublesome, he was outright dangerous.

But as the minutes passed and he caught the shifting of the sun, he wondered how long he could hide and wait in a safe spot that was clearly not his charitable little jail cell. It was selfish and wrong, but here he was slumped down awaiting rescue. And there was that uncomfortable knot in his chest for pressing into the ‘hero’ that was willing to help. Looking back the way he came, he thought perhaps it was best to swallow it down and find Spyro again. The fact was even his limited understanding was better than nothing.

But just as he managed to stumble back up to his feet, voices caught his attention. One rigid and furious sounding while the others averting, tones he knew too well. They were so loud he was dumbstruck he didn’t notice. Cody could only hope it wasn’t that Kaos person again.

He peered through the bushes and his heart stopped.

There were more.

“I feel the need to remind you all that my class is meant for the specific purpose of teaching you the finer points of being a Skylander, to defend and conduct yourself properly on the field of battle” said an intimidating bird man pacing around with dulled armor clinking upon his every step. “And yet here I am having to explain to you the purpose of roll call and following simple instructions! Either I’m losing my touch, or I’ve been teaching preschool!”

A robotic wind-up toy raised his hand- claw- in defense. “We were keeping our eyes on him the whole time, Professor Jet-Vac, honest!”

“Am I to assume he just vanished into thin air, then!? Need I remind you I’ve seen his record and dealt with his braggart tendencies same as you lot and last I checked that wasn’t one of his ‘famed’ abilities.”

“It’s one of Stealth Elf’s, sir.” A grotesque looking creature muttered, followed with a string of belches. “Come to think of it, she and Eruptor were with Spyro before he vanished.” He belched again.

“Wha-Bad Breath, you little tattletale!” A talking red rock fumed with cracks in between his surface.

 “Preschool, indeed.” The bird-man, Jet-Vac he was called, sighed pacing over and around the rock creature and a green girl in rags, pressed to one another. “All right, you two, out with it. Where has our winged truant gone gallivanting off to this time?”

“Ah…” The girl started. “Professor, a what-if scenario here: say a student wanted to conduct, say, independent study for a school project, and-“

“I OBJECT!” The rock creature blurted. “I PLEAD THE FIFTH! THERE WERE NO WITNESSES! IT’S SOCIETY’S FAULT!”

“Eruptor!” The girl, Stealth Elf, fired staring at him. Cody couldn’t even tell with those empty pupils. “So, independent study because our teachers always inspire us to take learning on ourselves-“

“I’M YOUNG AND IMPRESSIONABLE! ELF MADE ME DO IT!”

“Eruptor!... Okay, yeah, can I just say he went to the bathroom?” She facepalmed.

The others were staying in the background but honestly, Cody thought, they couldn’t have grabbed more attention even if they were shouting. More dragons, a fish man, and a creepy girl in a black robe with a skull in a bubble that was moving. More than once he found himself shutting his eyes to keep from pinballing between the random assortment and wishing once again it was all just the resort of an imagination suddenly springing to life.

That same skull seemed to be looking out, a feat he questioned considering the lack of eyeballs. “Uh, guys?” It spoke.

The bird-man stepped forward, towering over the two. “Cadets, I believe that despite your short time at the Academy, you all know me well enough to know that I choke on my birdseed at the first sign of insubordination. Among certain other reactions…” Some chuckled at that while others recoiled.

“Guys?” The skull spoke again.

“And while I have come to expect it from, ridiculously enough, one of the most prodigal pupils we have seen in our history of training Skylanders, I hardly would have expected it from you!” He leaned right into the girl, who popped inches away from his judging pupil. “Enabling a teammate’s unfortunate tendencies reflects poorly on oneself as well and frankly is a road to ruin for all involved. A circumstance where any member of the team fails to reign in their worst impulse leads to your team or your mission falling apart like a house of cards! Such negligence, I’ll remind you, is not the Skylander Way!”

“Yes, Professor Jet-Vac…” The rock and girl both spoke simultaneously.

“GUYS!” The skull finally shouted.

The pale girl in black glared at him grabbing his sphere. “Skull, the class is having a bit of a moment here. This better not be because you saw another carcass that reminds you of a Familiar co-worker!”

“Well, I’m seeing something but with a lot more… scale…”

All present, known or otherwise, turned to the assumed line of the skull’s sight. Cody folded when a distant call built up with volume and occasional wing flaps into something too familiar. It was his name, he made out when the voice was clear enough; a certain dragon hadn’t given up the chase.

“Olly-olly-oxen-free!” Spyro’s voice rebounded. “Hey, can you just come out alre-“

The dragon stumbled in-flight and went down like he had been swatted before all the others, sliding into dirt. Cody was almost as nervous as Spyro looked when the dragon raised his head to meet the teacher’s glare. “Heeeyyy, everybody. JV, my main man, bird, bird-man. Any… chance I came back in time for lunch?”

Jet-Vac’s white feathers were near turning red. “Actually, Cadet Spyro, you’re just in time to provide us with what I am sure is a rousing explanation for your whereabouts for, oh what is it, the LAST HOUR!”

“Pretty sure that wasn’t on the itinerary.”

“Let me put it another way, lad: explain or I’ll have you serving detention until you’re as old as Master Eon!” He poked the dragon’s horn with no visible effect. “And hopefully somewhere down that line I’ll have pounded the importance of respect into your head.”

“I’m flattered you want to spend that kind of quality time with me, really.”

Spyro pulling at the military bird’s strings left even Cody, as an onlooker, with the sensation he was being choked on those strings. Like raising his arms for the eventual tidal wave when the wisest move would be not to churn the waters and just do as the instructor wished with a bowed head and not even a peep. The tension was drowning, every raised voice that added to it sending a flinch that reverberated through every inch of his body. It was getting exhausting fast.

They would have to leave sometime, they would go back to their Academy or wherever these strange people all spawned from. He could handle shouting, just turn his back to the voices and let himself go numb for as long as it took. The boy decided to do just that, backing away from the bushes, watching for the errant hand placement on twigs to crack and dared not to even breathe.

“I should hope in all the time you’ve been gone, you’ve given at least a moment of forethought to what would have happened to your classmates for their aid in your little escape plan.” He folded his arms behind him and turned to the others. “Class, let Cadet Spyro and his inconsiderate views of his teammates as accessories be a reminder to you all to consider that your actions, great or small, have consequences! And you, Spyro, I suggest consider so most especially!”

“Geez. It’s not always about me, you know.” Spyro noted in that flippant tone Cody was starting to recognize. “Matter of fact, if you really want to know, I’m in the middle of an important rescue mission. Somewhere out there is a victim in distress who can only turn to yours truly for help!”

Cody gulped.

The others gathered almost gave a single exasperated sigh. Cody could imagine the tired scowls on their faces. Out of anything he had heard, familiarity with such reactions made those quiet sounds the loudest.

“Here he goes again…”

“More of the exciting tales of ‘Spyro the Great’…”

“Just when I thought I’d get one day of breathing room next to Mr. Ego…”

“Uncool, man… erp…”

“I knew it!” Eruptor fumed. “I knew this was gonna happen! ‘Get the jump on this assignment,’ he said. ‘Help a dragon out,’ he said. I feel manipulated and offended!”

Cody guessed it was Stealth Elf walking up when she spoke. “We nearly got chewed out and all you’ve got to say for yourself is you were playing make-believe in the woods?”

“Why put a negative spin on it? ‘Teamwork’ is apparently the theme of the day, let’s go with that. What’s more important is that I’m on active Skylander duty here!”

“I believe that should be for after you’re actually a Skylander.” Jet-Vac added with firmness.

“Yeah, maybe you saved a squirrel falling from a tree or something. That’s as far as I’m willing to stretch this.” Eruptor grumbled.

“Naysay all you want, but-“

A crack of wood nearby cast like a clap of thunder.

Cody’s eyes shot open. In his heavy slouch his back brushed against the branches, and the voices on the other side stopped nerve-rackingly in time. At that point the boy ran a cold sweat desperately controlling every shiver his body was trying to emit. Hopefully they reacted to some other sound: some stray animal or another of the apparently common falling trees around here. He gulped as silently as possible praying as much.

“There you are!” A scaled head peeked right next to him. It was just his luck.

“Dude, I’ve been looking all over for you. I mean, really, what are the odds?” Grabbing him by the wrist, the dragon began to pull him out into the limelight. “Now come on, you’re not getting away that easy!”

“W-Wait a minute!”

“Just… come out here so I can prove I’m not crazy!”

Against the dragon’s wing-boosted strength, Cody’s dull reflexes left him powerless. His dead weight body was flung into the limelight and onto the ground with all the care of a ragdoll before an audience of creatures. Like an exotic animal put fresh on display with no chance to retreat into a secluded hole for privacy, he only stared wide-eyed. They all stared back with any trace of their past frustration completely gone, looking to each other with fast glances waiting for someone to break the pause.

It was Eruptor. “That… is not a squirrel.”

They all stampeded towards him at once screaming out, observations and questions amongst them all jumbled into a mess of intelligible noise. Cody backed away on instinct into the bushes with no responses possible as words were caught in his throat. Suffocated, even the sharp pricks of thorns on the wood were welcome as a stable ground in blotting everything out.

“Yeah,” Spyro rubbed his snout pulling everyone’s attention. “Found him hiding behind a tree all alone and helpless, so you know, me just being a big old bleeding heart for kids in distress, I decided to give this little guy a helping hand. And then Kaos comes up with his usual ‘evil overlord of the Skylands-to be’ bit

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” A fish-man spoke up. “You ran into Kaos!? Like, the real Kaos!?”

“Ugly scowl, smelly robe, head the size of a moon. Yep, Kaos.” Spyro stood at attention but didn’t bother to hide the smug grin on his face. “A couple fireballs and I sent him crying ‘wee-wee-why’ all the way home, though. Would have done it the other way but I didn’t really have a rolled-up newspaper on me at the time.”

“Right.” Stealth Elf noted. “A couple of fireballs. Forgive me if I roll my eyes at that.”

“Are you rolling your eyes?” Eruptor cocked an eye. “It’s hard to tell, sometimes.”

“Hey, come on, Elfy. Have I given you any reason to doubt me, before?” The dragon placed an arm on her shoulder, but she popped away in a flash of green smoke and appeared behind him, knocking to the ground with a punch.

“You do not want me to answer that.” She crossed her arms. “Anything you might have left out of your heroic exploits?”

“Well, if you can call the kid using magic a heads-up…”

Cody’s best attempt at a glare towards the mouthy dragon was anything but, thanks to a lack of experience and frustration pushed aside for something else. Nonetheless the class trapped him once again, thought their questions had gone hushed and there was a great deal more staring this time. Worse than usual, Jet-Vac, who had shown his interest from afar, was astonished enough now to come in close past his students and face him directly.

“Is this true?” The bird-man asked.

Cody could only nod. He dared not to give a response that might trigger disciplinary wrath from the old bird.

He turned to the others and folded his arms behind. “Everyone follow me, no dawdling. You as well, lad.”

Running was the only option he seemed to have, but the question was to run after them, or run the other way and cross fingers for better fortune in hiding. Though he quickly found he had no strength to do either, with a wobbly rise and not even a half-step before he crumbled. He glanced at the backs of the others walking away, not even noticing him. Another dilemma for him, blocking his voice, either to speak up and call for help or hope their ignorance last and he would be by himself again. Lost in thought, he was pulled to his feet on both sides and carried forward steadily without notice and found Stealth Elf and Eruptor staring in that way he was never going to be used to.

The path the group took along the island’s edge was one of continued silence and wayward eyes. Cody’s own were kept past the end, into an infinite void of sky from what he remembered from the last time. This world everyone called the Skylands definitely lived up to its name, the only patches of earth drifting endlessly along its space. But there was the question lingering as much as he tried to keep it out, as to what might happen if one should fall. Ahead, Spyro’s foot kicked into a pebble, and Cody watched as that rock went off and into the bright orange abyss.

Perhaps that rock would keep falling forever. A living person in that position would have a multitude of thoughts, expecting death that would come at a moment’s notice but never would at the same time.

Thankfully no one noticed his stares. He pushed the thought out once more and just stared forward. He looked at anything else to keep his attention off but settled on the drooping dragon ahead of him.

Spyro had been carrying on as if shackled in chains, his wings weighted, following the strict bird-man at the head of the line. He could tell already that Spyro had a rebel’s spirit that didn’t mix well with the discipline that Jet-Vac seemed to enforce, from how he gave a huff in his direction when they first started. It was all in stark contrast to his lively personality seen when they were together in the woods. More than once he had even seen Spyro’s gaze mirroring his own, aimed at the sky in every direction. It certainly got him dissatisfied glares from Elf and Eruptor for the majority of the trip.

Many times, the two had glanced at him and he passed off smiles as good as his glares. No offense to anyone but it was torture being amid such friction between people once again. Being alone, left in peace while life went on, a simple wish that didn’t cause harm or inconvenience to anyone. Though it might have been because he wanted it that it was out of reach. More punishment.

At the end of the path came the destination everyone assumed Jet-Vac had in mind. An old rickety bridge that likely no one had confidence towards with how it swayed. At the end of it was a small islet with a large platform in the center. Its surface remained still, pristine like a pool of water, though surrounded by an aging ring of rusting metal. Cody stared transfixed at the mysterious device, a strange hum pulsating between his ears, easing his heart when it played and yet stirring racings when it stopped.

“Whoa… what is that thing?” The girl in black, Hex, had asked.

“That, Cadet Hex…” Jet-Vac began. “… Is a Portal.”

“Wait, a real Portal?” Stealth Elf inquired. “Like from the Great War?”

“Indeed, Miss Elf. Portals were one of the most valuable assets we possessed during the time of the Great War.” Jet-Vac paced. “Though only certain individuals were able to use them, they granted countless boons – the ability to teleport to any location instantly, to view any person or object of their wielders’ interest, even offer haven for those injured in battle. Sadly, since those day, the Portals remain inactive, with only three in the entirety of the Skylands able to wield them.”

“Right… and two of them aren’t exactly good guys.” Elf concluded.

Spyro leapt forward, a renewed spark in him sending him looking out at the Portal. “Seriously? That old hunk of junk can take you anywhere in the Skylands?”

“Don’t get any ideas, lad.” Jet-Vac scolded. “If my theory is right, this Portal will only take you anywhere… he wants to go.”

Jet-Vac was pointing right at him. Cody stepped back, that woozy feeling returning for the umpteenth time.

“You, lad. Care to see if there’s a fourth?”

A fourth… what? He wasn’t suggesting that he was able to use this thing? A forcefield that blew tens of foes back was one thing, but this?

Still Cody complied and stepped forward, with Jet-Vac gesturing the entire class with him. Step by step they crossed the bridge; Eruptor’s weight made up for those that flew or levitated to avoid danger. Cody found his sight teetering and blurring between the sight of the Portal and the void beneath. As strangely calming as he found the thought of a never-ending fall, he still clamped his eyes shut and treaded lightly.

Soon all had made it across and circled around the Portal. Cody slumped to the ground almost numb and ready to latch onto the nearest rock but followed the class. They all stood waiting and wondering.

“Now then. Cody, was it?” Jet-Vac asked again. “Doubtful you’re familiar with the terrain. However, a single thought is all that is necessary, as I have on good authority of. Focus on ‘Skylander Academy’ and touch the Portal.”

“Really, the Academy?” Spyro chimed in. “Can’t we add a few more stops on this magical road trip?”

“Spyro!” Stealth Elf scolded.

The bird-man huffed. “Right then. Off you go: think ‘Skylander Academy’ and the rest will come naturally.”

Without a word, Cody breathed in and stepped forward again, slowed by his own rampant thoughts. The impossible, the unexpected, the downright weird seemed to be an expectation of these people, for he saw no way this would have been able to work. Yet, when the tip of his foot reached the surface, it reacted. A ripple of light like on a pond came from the very spot it touched, dimming as it reached the edge. A similar ripple, warm and strong but gentle, flowed through him as well.

It was magic, the remaining common sense in him found the nerve to say. Here he was, with magic to make this old platform function. With no will left he followed Jet-Vac’s instructions to the letter. All that came to mind were the words ‘Skylander Academy.’

And with motes of light that evolved into a pillar that reached into the heavens of heaven, the Portal reacted. Cody looked to see all the creatures, every speck of flesh, fur, scale, and otherwise glowing bright and dissolving. And the same was happening to him – his entire body, fading into sheer nothingness.

He didn’t scream, he didn’t panic, he didn’t think. He just let it happen, and all he saw was white.

.

Back on almost the other end of the Falling Forest was the airship the class had arrived in. In a booth at the front, Flynn sat with his feet propped at the wheel slouched on his chair. He slurped on his drink by the straw with an obnoxious volume, an oblivious look of content on his face.

“Wonder how long those guys are gonna take?”

* * *

 

For only a moment.

When he opened his eyes again, it looked strangely enough like heaven, but the reminder of mortality came with his gasp. He grazed his hand on his shirt, his hair, his face, all telling him he was very much alive.

Standing before him and all the others was some grand white-brick palace with spires raised and towers firm with a sense of resolute order. Banners flapped at the top with a wind that blew like a triumphant fanfare along its stone walls, paladins against a corrupt world. Before them all was a courtyard with a fountain flowing serene while more of the same creatures raced back and forth along the paths. Every inch of the building reflected a luminous glow from the sun raised high, almost blinding in strength yet warming as well.

He stared out along with all the others at his side. Oddly enough they were just as taken back as him, despite how Cody assumed magic and the like was all second nature to them.

“We’re really back at the Academy…” Elf whispered.

“Gotta be the quickest ride home I’ve ever seen.” Eruptor mumbled.

“Great. Field trip’s over.” Spyro grumbled.

Jet-Vac however, had no words to spare, which alarmed Cody. Instead he ran across the dock and the courtyard and up the steps to the entrance. He could hear the bird-man shout into the halls ahead from across the way.

“Master Eon! I’ve found… a Portal Master!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we’ve reached the end of another one. And this chapter has gotten the record for the largest one in terms of words, minus this author’s note. Maybe I should think about shortening the scenes up.
> 
> Anyway, Cody has met the Skylanders and the secret behind his newfound talents is confirmed. What will happen now? What does Eon have to say as to the whole thing?
> 
> Aside from the usual junk I took a couple of days off to recharge my batteries because I’ve been writing non-stop. I’ve been organizing scenes in my head, writing them down, plus I’ve been considering when would be a good time to pause this story and get to work on my other ones, since I’ve been focusing on this one since the year began. 
> 
> So that’s it for me once again. Who knows when you’ll catch this post if you’re in America and catching the Super Bowl today but be sure to check it out. Thanks to the new fans who favorited and followed the story. As for you new readers, review favorite, follow!


	6. Welcome to Skylander Academy

_That was to say nothing about the world you lived in. I couldn’t even think to ask questions. All I did was turn away and hide._

_Then again, that was the only thing I ever did. I’d made so great a mistake I didn’t see what was right in front of me._

Jet-Vac’s announcement rang out as an alarm and was the trigger for destruction. The white-bricked pristine towers exploded with the forms and colors of creatures bursting out of every door, window and open crevice found. They scattered from their sources like airborne debris from every nearby isle, excited and confused chatters deafening. Dragons, elves, golems, robots, gremlins, and every other creature one could even imagine soon covered the whole of the cobblestone path in their masses.

Cody gulped. “Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. Not again…”

He backed a step but stopped with a winded gasp with the railing at the edge of the walkway at his back. The boy choked on the lack of air, skin and fingers twitching with hundreds of new eyes homing in for inconsistencies, eager to target his form amidst the chaos and the wish that invisibility was among his list of magic powers. Clutching his sleeve and bowing his head he sprinted with dizzy steps towards a tree along the side of the road.

“Wh-hey! Where are you going?” Stealth Elf called after him.

Spyro placed a claw on her shoulder. “It’s cool, Elf. That kid just doesn’t get along with the spotlight.”

Truth per experience for the boy long past his breaking point as he took shelter in the familiar refuge of shade cast from the sturdy oak, bracing himself as strength sapped from his legs. Hard bark dragging and tearing on his jacket and back as he slouched struck through any distortion of reality or cradle of thoughts to calm him. Dropping to the lawn with dew seeping through fabric, Cody dropped his forehead on his knees, numb with the noise of the army of creatures muffling in his ears. He breathed in the midday air and clenched the blades of grass, awaiting the bombshell of his being made a spectacle for this entire world.

“Okay, folks,” Stealth Elf’s voice came from nowhere following a popping sound. “Nothing to see here. Just a tree, a lovely and healthy tree. Props to the gardening club for this beauty!”

“Seriously, enough gawking,” Eruptor followed. “You want something to look at, the art gallery’s a few isles down!”

The two cadets had attempted to look as casual as possible, Eruptor sporting a glare while Stealth Elf remained nonchalant. Murmurs from the otherworldly crowed ebbed in volume, but they soon turned quiet and amongst themselves. The two shared a high-five, or whatever came close with Eruptor's magma stub hands, in triumph as Spyro touched upon the lawn beside them.

“Nice, real nice,” the dragon gave a sarcastic grin clapping his claws. “Way to pull off some quality crowd control, guys. What’s your encore, redirecting traffic?”

“Someone had to help the kid.” Eruptor glared.

“Yeah, more on that,” Elf continued. “At this point it's clear he’s what everyone thinks he is, and I think I speak for everyone yammering out here that it might be for the best that Master Eon sees him. But if that’s going to happen, we might want to ease him into this.”

“And how are we supposed to do that, Elfy?”

“For starters, be nice and get him to talk. Take it slow, one on one. He needs to know he’s safe here.”

“Might want to let me handle this, then,” Spyro stepped and nudged her by the shoulder. “Seeing as how I was the one who found him. And you know, be honest: who can be freaked out at this lovable face?”

Eruptor grumbled. “’Freaked out’ isn’t the term I’d use.”

“Well… the fool came back.”

The four turned to the man shark stomping up with muscled arms crossed and a scowl deep enough to pop out the crags in his forearms, teeth bared. Cody's stare only lasted half a second when the hulking brute flicked a pupil his way, and the second half had his gaze returning to the lawn. The trio of Skylanders stood staring up at him, Elf and Eruptor baring for the worst while Spyro took up a cheery grin.

“Yo, yo, yo, T-Man. Have you been missing your old pal?” The dragon looked ready for a hug.

“You wish, scales for brains,” the man-shark huffed. “Way you’ve been talking up your class’s field trip, I’d thought you’d take off and never look back. How much detention you got today?”

“I’ve got better things to add to my scorecard than just another round of detention. Like, you know… finding the first Portal Master in ages? That’s got to be a whole semester’s worth of extra credit right there.”

“So that’s what the whole school's up about? You found a Portal Master?” He raised a brow.

Spyro’s wings flapped the moment he opened his jaw considering his triumph, rising into the air. “I mean, we might have to put history class on hold or something so they can fix up the textbooks. Spyro the Dragon finding a new Portal Master and bringing hope to the Skylands in the face of growing darkness. I should talk to Master Eon about getting my good side for the illustration. The question is, which good side?”

“Hey! Skylands to horn head! Do you read!?” Spyro lost himself once more in his own world higher than the Skylands while the grounded shark scoffed tapping his foot. 

"Ease up, Terrafin," Stealth Elf stepped in. "Everybody knows there's no stopping him when he gets this hyped up."

“Last thing the fool needs, fuel for the fire," Terrafin looked back up with an arm raised ready to clobber the wayward-minded dragon. "I wouldn’t go gettin' my autographin’ claw ready over some fluke, hotshot!”

"Fluke is a strong word, T-Man." That had gotten his attention. "But if you plan on copying, afraid you’ll have to wait until another freaked out kid decides to pop up out of nowhere."

A vein was now visible on the side of Terrafin’s head and on his forearm as he yanked Spyro by the tail. “Yeah, well maybe T-Man ain’t gonna go copying! Maybe T-Man don’t need medals for doing some fool routine like getting’ up and posing in the mirror! Maybe T-Man’s gonna hit the books like everyone who don’t got skills like you! Maybe T-Man’s gonna take down some bad guy while you go on bein’ your own biggest fan and writin’ love letters to yourself in smoke!”

Spyro had backed away sneering. “Maybe T-Man should stop by the student store and grab a mint or ten. Gravel breath…”

Stealth Elf and Eruptor stuck to the side behind him with groans to stifle annoyance, something akin to repetition in Cody's experience. Drooping to the grass he stroked the sticky blades, and everything in this aerial world had by the strangest turn of events grown closer to reality than he thought possible. A dejected sigh escaped his lips, and he swallowed tight at the slight trace of a sting at familiar winds stirring. Still, he stayed silent knowing his word might do as much to quell this storm of conflict as always.

“ENOUGH!”

The command blasted as a gust of air across the courtyard blowing the clouds of anarchy amongst the crowd away. Standing at the top of the steps with an at-attention Jet-Vac by his side was a sage old man in radiant sky-blue robes, tranquil with the slightest flow. Cadets jerked stiff with their arms magnetizing to their sides staring forward at him, blinking under those wisps of intensity in his eyes. Cody dragged his own head out as well bracing the tree with the strangest mixture of fear and serenity. The angle of the man's face with its heavy brows and lengthy beard as he stretched his gaze spoke of ages of wisdom few could fathom.

“Let me see the boy. I wish to meet with him.”

Wondering murmurs rose again as countless mix-and-matched heads turned to one another. The boy in question leaned hard back and looked away, his own arms and legs as heavy as stones caught between contradicting desires. Even with the closest thing to human contact since he'd come here waiting, melding with the wood to disappear forgotten seemed the better choice. 

“Cody?”

Stealth Elf had appeared in a puff of green smoke beside him, with Spyro peeking behind her shoulder. His breath hitched for a moment. But it caught his eye how the elf's frame was outline with gentle rays, highlighting the gentle smile she wore. “Don’t worry, you can trust Master Eon. We’re all heroes here, and we want to help you. If you give us a chance, we might be able to do that.”

His hand tensed under the touch of hers but her continued smile and even Spyro's grin drained the frost in his bones. It sagged with hope as he stared up at them both. "You think so?"

"Yeah, if anyone knows what’s up, it’s Eon. Might as well talk to him," Spyro's tone gained humor that outshone any attempted kindness. "Unless you think you've got a better chance hiding back here wishing for a ride home."

A noose of logic yanked Cody by his weakened legs with the dragon’s suggestion out into open daylight and the mercy of judging eyes. True to his fear the crowd stared wide-eyed at him as he walked past, surrounded. His head bowed like a slave to face a king, the sun slapped its light on his flesh, the hand clutching his ragged coat to bare them for the creatures parting. But Stealth Elf's words ringing in his head cut the bind and that touch became gentler. Spyro's Master Eon was there at the top, standing for the boy who could see only mercy.

“H-Hello, sir…”

The old man was a mix of many parts like his student body: the shimmering armor and garb but with a kind smile like a grandfather's, rasing a hand to a child needing guidance. All the weight on his form vanished, yet his extended hand clenched and pulled back when Eon's reached out. It was wrong, his heart screamed. But he took the man's hand surprised by the smoothness of skin and grip that exuded life when it shook his.

“Welcome, young Cody.” Eon greeted. “We have much to talk about, I’m sure.”

Eon kept his hand in his own guiding him into the hall. The doors shut behind them with a clamoring thud.

The full crowd of Skylanders returned to their mutterings, sparse but soon exploding into conversation. The trio at the side kept silent, Elf and Eruptor exchanging glances of anticipation before turning back ahead. Spyro, however, took to the air by a foot locked onto the entrance, more expectant.

“No way I am missing whatever happens next.” The dragon shot towards the windows.

* * *

For once, quiet dominated the world. The return from total psychological overload that Cody had been through in every passing second. From the shadowy crevice by the door Cody took in a welcome closer to his liking.

A library in any sense or realm with lines of shelved books offering wordless greetings in volumes underscoring this new world's scale. His hand brushed upon the stone cooled and blanketed by shadow, daylight filtering from the draped, ceiling-high windows was the only thing that remained foreign. His bedroom with its comforts stirred from memory, a still zone that the glow of time didn't penetrate, and the world moved on beyond the walls alone. The telescope and the small desk in the rotunda corner were the near perfect mirror image and doubled as the perfect point of vantage. He exhaled, any insane inkling of finding what these 'Skylands' offered could be normal now, but his stomach churned still.

“I assure you, the chairs are quite comfortable. Unless you find standing over there preferable.”

The boy tensed. Serenity had fixed him to the spot. “S-Sorry…”

He followed the sage forward to a set of red velvet chairs and a polished table in the center. The two seated across from each other, Eon fixated on him with fingers crossed while Cody locked any openings, eyes and chest. Trust and peace slipped away as he fidgeted and scooted to the edge of his chair.

But in peeking to let his wandering eye pace the brick flooring back to his feet, Cody stopped at the circle in the center just visible enough beneath the table. Despite the runic symbols trying to pass it off as ornate floor decor, the shape and transparent surface marked it as a Portal. The tip of his shoe brushed with a soft scrape, in caution it might warp him away as a single tap had done to who knows where. His foot settled right on the rim, drawn with possibility; a single thought, a word, or an image and he would teleport anywhere. If he...

“Ah, there you are, Hugo.”

He blinked as the door opened and in wandered a furry creature with spectacles heightening that curious gaze he loathed so much. Still there was a good-natured smile on his face as he bungled balancing both a large backpack of parchments and a wheeled tray with an ornate tea set. “Right here, Master Eon. I heard we have the first new Portal Master in ages, so I had an excuse to break out the good set.”

Eon breathed in. “Blend of luminaries, I take it? The aroma is quite rich.”

"Your star pupil always gives them his seal of approval. They must be high quality," the furry man waved.

The old master gestured, waving the herbal scent to him. "Care for a cup?"

"Oh, ah, thank you," he took the cup with a nod in thanks. "I didn't even realize I was so thirsty."

“Thank you, Hugo. That will be all for now.”

"Right then," Hugo nodded, adjusting his glasses. "If anyone needs anything else, I'll be over on the next isle attending to my regular duties. Starting with making sure the Academy is absolutely, completely, 100% devoid of those little wooly terrors! BEWARE, SHEEP!" His declaration carried right up to the door, shutting it with a slam.

“Hugo is rather passionate regarding his… hobbies,” Eon chuckled.

The sage took to his cup humming in pleasure with the occasional grab for sugar as the clock ticked the moments away. Cody let his own cup sit in his hand, glancing at him every moment the old man savored his sips, letting the warm liquid-filled porcelain cast his reflection, disturbingly composed. Jolts of hot and cold crossed in streams up his arms twisting the cup with his right hand, fire at his fingertips to ice in his forearms.

Thirst screaming, he forced a sip: a near drop, but enough to still his innards for the moments left. The taste was overwhelming: a grassland of sweetness set aflame by a spice wildfire. He licked his lips and massaged his throat to swallow the drops in the thin margin of time Eon was distracted.

A cup from across the distance clattered on the table. “I am sure you have questions.”

“That’s… kind of an understatement,” he muttered. “This is just a lot to take in... all at once.”

“Well, I suppose that’s not surprising.” The old wizard set his cup. “Curiosity is among many emotions to strike a visitor from another world.”

.

Spyro’s jaw dropped clutching the glass outside, his claws frozen in place. His cracked voice grew to a gasp like a grab for any free air, easily able to alert the two. He swallowed and continued watching.

.

The boy inside was no less startled. “H-How did you know? I mean… I don’t know if that’s an obvious thing or…”

When Eon didn’t offer a response, Cody looked up to the old man raising his hand in expectance. “If I were to wager a guess, I’d say you have in your possession now a mysterious stone. Might you humor me with a glance?”

Cody twitched at the warm invitation. But the stone the old man guessed was in his possession was serving no purpose in his pocket. Its humming glow sparked in his hand as he placed it in the smooth palm of the wise sage before him.

“As I suspected,” he peered closely at it. “This… is a Portal of Power.”

“Portal of… Power?” The boy looked up at the crystal. “So, this thing’s a Portal, like that other one on the ground?”

“Make no mistake, a Portal of Power is far beyond any normal Portal, in both form and ability. Portals of Power, on very rare occasions, take the form of shooting stars sent as gifts from the Ancients, the very creators of the Skylands. They hold the unique ability to transport their users betwixt worlds, realms far outside the Skylands.” The mystic rock glowed far stronger in Eon’s hand than it had in his own. “The only quality they share with the Portals found here is that only Portal Masters are able to use them… Portal Masters such as you and I.”

Cody’s nerve-filled tug went to his knees knocked together, gawking at the tiny packet of power. Glancing at Eon’s smiling face from beneath his locks at sparse seconds, he scrambled throughout his head for the next available thought he had.

“You guys, you keep saying all these weird terms. Skylander, Portal Master, it’s just a mental marathon trying to keep up with it,” he gulped. “All I did was pick up a rock in my yard and I ended up here: it was an accident. How does what you’re saying relate to me? What’s all this supposed to be about?”

“To understand that, you must understand a crucial piece of our world’s history.” The old wizard strode towards the open window gazing out at the dotted islands. “Long ago, Portal Masters existed in droves, fighting alongside heroes from countless corners of the realm under the unified name, Skylander, to protect our world, the Skylands from evil. The Skylanders and Portal Masters forged unbreakable bonds with one another as allies and friends, and those bonds made us invincible against the forces that threatened to destroy us.”

Cody nodded.

But Eon’s gaze turned dark, and in his hunch Cody could swear the clouds beyond his window gained a deeper shade. “But then came a horrid period, the Great War, where amidst it a wicked force unlike any seen before rose to power and exterminated Portal Masters one by one. With our kind brought to the brink of extinction, only I remained to command the Skylanders,” he turned away and light returned. “Though the losses were immeasurable, we attained victory, if only by the narrowest of margins.”

“That’s… terrible...”

The boy gulped as he shifted in his chair and imagined only a face on the old wizard mirroring his own in the cooling tea’s surface. Somehow, he brought himself to turn towards the man who still stood tall as time true to his name feigned passage. “Still, why me? Why now?”

Eon returned to him. “No one truly knows just what defines or gives rise to a Portal Master. Riches and royal blood cannot make one such. Though some believe a heroic spirit is beneficial.”

“What about that guy, Kaos?” Cody asked.

“Ah, so you have met him. I had heard you and Spyro had, a select few might say, a fateful encounter with him in the Falling Forest.”

“Yeah. And he had magic. Does that mean he’s a Portal Master, too?”

“He is, to the grief of many, as is his mother so that refutes any further speculation there.” Eon sighed. “Considering this, most are of the shared opinion one is born with the power or they are not, no further discussion needed. But regardless of any debate of their origin, their random appearances throughout the history of the Skylands has convinced warriors and scholars alike they are fated to appear when our world needs them most.”

He was at Cody’s side before the boy even recognized and kneeled to look him in the eye. “With that in mind, I am of firm belief it to be no coincidence you’ve come.”

The boy had backed away with such proximity, Eon’s unspoken expectations almost pouring in and sending his insides quivering. He locked on the door that seemed to grow miles in shadowy distance until it vanished. His gaze wrenched back to the old man daring entry past his walls with that smile once again. Gaining his bearings on the wood rim of the seat he settled himself and smoothed the ruffles in his wrung, near-torn clothing.

“Um, mister, Master Eon, sir…” He started. “I mean, this is nice and everything, but I just-“

“Young Cody, ever since I founded this institution it has been a dream of mine that one day new Portal Masters would come. They would unite with the Skylanders of today and forge bonds as their predecessors once did and train as defenders of the Skylands together.” He raised himself and extended once more. “Forgive me for my ramblings but let me make my point. Would you consider becoming the first Portal Master student here at Skylander Academy?”

“… What?”

“I am asking if you would enroll as a student at my Academy,” he beamed with the brightest smile and twinkle in his eye. “Allow me to offer guidance, I can help you control your magic. You can become a protector, a hero alongside the other Skylanders. I believe this is where you are meant to be. What say you?”

To become some superpowered hero with incredible power and combat skills, to be a hero with mighty creatures at their side and make their name legend. A comic book fantasy that somehow turned reality-if it were any other ten-year-old boy, they would have jumped at the chance. But Cody’s stare withered and went dead, skin gone pale with cold sweat running down. Locking his arms together and setting up walls while thoughts stopped. And only images played.

Several people screaming, with tear-flooded glares.

A picture of a flower that fluttered to a tile floor.

An unmoving body in a bed with a white sheet on their face.

Himself, back in his room as a blank silhouette sitting hunched in a dark-rimmed vision that faded to mental nothingness.

“… No, thank you.”

The old wizard blinked in shock. “Pardon?”

“No, I don’t think I’m what you’re looking for,” Cody drew in deep. He made no efforts to hide in turning away this time. “There’s no chance of that at all, I can tell you for sure.”

He near jumped from the seat making his first steps for the door. Eon stopped his dazed trudging halfway with his hand over the boy’s hunched shoulder. “Young Cody, I don’t wish to force your hand but at least consider. The potential and power of a Portal Master is a blessing given only to a small handful of individuals, and I fear a time may come when the Skylands will need that power. When they will need you.”

Cody turned to the kindly old sage, his face sunken and a slight crack in his quiet tone. “I tried to save someone once… but I couldn’t. I’m not blessed or gifted, I’m not lucky, and I’m not the kind of person who could ever be a hero. The last place I belong is in some school for heroes.”

The boy brushed Eon’s hand walking away and trudged up the steps. He took one last glance at the old wizard, facing him directly, though his head felt weighted. He breathed in deep.

“I’m sorry…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So anyway, hope this chapter has provided a bit of an insight into Cody, especially with that last comment. Wouldn’t it be nice for him if the story ended right here? But no. There is more coming, and more to this kid than anyone in the Academy thinks. Want to find out for yourself? You’ll just have to keep reading.


	7. Jailbreak

Cody’s feet dragged out of the building, the giant doors slamming shut behind him. For a moment he leaned back, Eon’s disappointed frown engraved in memory. For a moment his pupils wandered back to the handle, and his hand reached but an inch for it. Instead, it went to his pocket, and from it came the Portal of Power, wisps of light from its core.

He sympathized with Eon’s veteran tales, but he still stood a literal world apart from any of these issues no matter who argued. Yet Cody remained sullen, the glow weakening as his fingers loosened around the rock. Every crack and crevice his hand ran across in the stone railing became another crack in his resolve. And with second thoughts peeking through his feet dragged again stopping him halfway down the steps.

Was it okay leaving things this way?

“Yo, yo, yo!”

The boy blinked from his stupor. Spyro dropped, or teleported as far as anyone could tell, by his side. The dragon’s extended wings cast a shadow large enough to block the midday sun and snare Cody. His tail caught Cody for real when he’d stumbled and flipped over the metal rail.

The dragon rotated around twirling him back into place in a cheery mood. He was a balloon of cheer letting out whoops and laughter bounding on busts of wing beats from one spot to the next. With a breath he perched on the railing laid back, his head upheld on a hand, looking suave with a debonair smile.

“You’re looking lost, and that’s saying something,” the dragon joked.

“Oh, um… sorry.”

“Is that your favorite word or something?” he chuckled. “I’m thinking you and old Eon had a heck of a chat in there.”

Cody stuffed the stone into his other pocket. “Yeah… he, um, h-he said he wanted me to be a student at this school. But I… I said no.”

Spyro leapt from the railing and circled the boy, slithering and flowing, staying in place for only a second. He set himself to be as elusive yet clear as that little voice in the kid’s head talking sense. “Ooh, yeah. You dodged a bullet there, kiddo,” he hummed looking at the open blue around them, his eyes rolling like airborne rockets from stray islands with too-familiar buildings. “Just take a look. Whole school as far as anyone can tell. Looks aside, this place doesn’t have much along the lines of stuff to do, and yes, I’m including class. It’s for the best you’re heading home, if you ask me.”

Cody blinked. “Wait, are you sure?”

“What, you think we’re keeping you locked up here? Trust me, that’d only be if you got enrolled,” the dragon chuckled. When Cody sighed and turned he closed in with an arm on his shoulder, a hand to the chest, and an entire body that exuded sympathy. Going the extra mile, he tilted his head trying to match that angelic glow Stealth Elf utilized to draw the boy towards her hand into Master Eon’s.

“Hey, chill. Elfy said it herself: everybody here is ready to give you the capes off their backs if you need them. And right now, it’s as obvious as my dashing good looks what you need is to beat a trail back to your world.” He gave the boy a wink.

“Yeah,” Cody muttered.

“Yeah, am I right? I’m right, I usually am. You’re nervous, you want to go home, so you can go home. I told you I’d get you home and mission accomplished. You’ve had a nice break from life, but the comforts of wherever you’re from are calling. Just give it a few shakes and think ‘there’s no place like home.’”

His claws braced onto Cody tight as if to anchor him to reality. They tingled and shook enough to send an earthquake of vibration into the boy’s small frame. Eavesdropping never aligned on whatever level with him as the dragon leaned more towards the epic tale of his own life. But trials in such stories often led to happy endings and the truth he’d gotten there with the quiet boy he’d found hit him hard. Spyro felt sure he and Cody were both seeing a golden godsend to that world unknown, a key to freedom, in that runic stone in his hands.

“Right. So, uh… just fire up that little night-light of yours and we’ll say, ‘happy trails…’” he leaned in whispering, a single talon reaching for the embedded stone. It hummed with a faint glow from its core, its magic stirring.

“Not so fast, hotshot!”

The two jolted at the gruff voice of the scowling Eruptor with his stubs at his hips right to their side. Their stares snapped up at the pop and fall of green mist and leaves from the tree where Stealth Elf was kneeling and dropped to the lava golem’s side. Spyro’s smiling mask went dry and cracked as the two approached no doubt feeling smug at knocking the wind from his wings.

“Elf, Big E,” he greeted with exposed jaws and claws near crushing Cody’s shoulder bones. “Nice of you two to join the party. For the record… how much did you hear?”

“Just enough,” Eruptor crossed his arms.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” his talon withered.

“And we’re thinking you shouldn’t be so quick to take a rain check on signing up with us, Cody,” Stealth Elf reassured leaned on the lava creature’s arm. “Skylander Academy’s got a ton of stuff you won’t want to miss.”

Cody glanced back and Spyro risked a hair of a second switching back to the face-freezing beam to inspire any last-minute confidence in him. The boy glanced between him and the gem and even back to the other two giving Spyro faith his role as the boy’s rock had won him the conscience tug-of-war between the three. Eon’s wardens, his fellow cadets, had pulled him by the leash enough times under the guise of camaraderie for him to work his way past all their tactics.

But he went wide-eyed and teeth grinding when Cody took that hope and the Portal and buried them into his pocket. The cell doors slid in and life beyond the walls became as far away as it had ever been. The dragon’s claw reached to grab his wrist and keep the precious gem out but twitched his talons and buried them at his side.

“I don’t know…” Cody mumbled in his common-growing unsure tone. “To tell the truth, I’m still trying to wrap my head around the magic and Portals and everything. And I can give a good hundred reasons I couldn’t do this whole ‘hero’ thing. If I signed up as a student, I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

Eruptor snagged the boy away leaving Spyro to fall on hard binding stone. “Is that what you’re worried over? Come on, buddy, there’s a volcano’s worth of cool stuff here. For starters, there’s Weapons Class, Supercharger Training, the Enemy Simulation Tests, Skyball, Elements 101, studying wild beasts-“

Cody had gone pale. “B-beasts? Weapons? E-E-Enemy S-Simulation?”

“Nice one, Eruptor,” Spyro deadpanned grinning. “When did you want to mention the super dangerous stuff?”

Eruptor blinked, seeing Cody going stiff as a wood plank. “Oh, whoops…”

“I-I mean…” Cody gulped slouching. “I don’t know. Superchargers, Elements, and all those other things? Now I’m even more lost…”

“Yeah, thanks for the road map, Eruptor,” Stealth Elf huffed and turned to Cody. “Look, everybody starts somewhere. Unless you’re Mr. Star Student over here, then you’re just perfect from the get-go.” Spyro gave the ninja girl a wink to which she shook her head groaning.

“Normal school is tough enough,” Cody sighed. “And I haven’t been there in years.”

“And yeah, things will be tough here too, well I mean, expect them to be,” she rested a hand on his shoulder shooing the dragon away. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t do it. There’s no point in quitting before you’ve even tried. Just give things a chance and you may surprise yourself with what you like and what you can do.”

“Exactly what I was saying!”

The eager dragon leapt up perching on Cody’s shoulders, hunching and clasping the boy’s sides again. Cody teetered off balance while he made a mental sprint for ideas. “Cool stuff! Lots of it! In fact, why don’t I give you the full Skylander Academy experience as your personal guide?”

“Seriously?” Cody blinked.

“Seriously?” Stealth Elf and Eruptor’s tones had that deep undertone of doubt.

“Yep,” Spyro pushed his charm to the utmost. “Can’t go making big decisions on the fly! Why not give our humble little hero school the full run before choosing? And don’t you worry, I’ll be busting out every stop on this tour, right up to the Academy anthem!”

“B-but you said… I don’t-“

“Time’s a-wasting,” the dragon forward-shoved him along the remaining steps around the building. “So much to see, so much time to see it. By the time we’re done, it’ll impress you as much as it does me!”

Cody disappeared behind the building and out of the reach of the other’s trapping influence, to Spyro’s relief. He’d stopped flapping in the second he’d turned around to meet Stealth Elf’s cynical stare from out of a cloud of smoke. He shut his wings and arms behind his back with a near-visible halo appearing above his head out of belief she could smell fear and falsehood. “Okay. What are you up to this time?”

“I’m up to giving the kid a tour. Didn’t you hear how ecstatic I was?”

“Sure we did,” Eruptor stomped forward. “That’s kinda why we’re worried.”

They were persistent, if nothing else, getting good in reading between the lines. But he knew how to keep the game going.

“You wound me and my integrity, sir,” he mock-gasped. “Is it a crime to want to offer a helping hand to someone or encourage a potential student? Ah, such a pity when a Skylander falls from the light. Slap the cuffs on me and take me away.”

“Far, far away, right?” Stealth Elf popped an inch from his snout pressing fingers into his scales. The violation of space forced him back to perch on the railing. “I’m sure you’d love that.”

“I’m the star student-slash-bad boy. I’m every color of complex under the psycho-rainbow.”

“Drop the cute act. This is another try at a daring escape, isn’t it?” She slapped a palm to the face groaning. “For crying out loud, Spyro! This is a school, not Cloudcracker Prison!”

“Ease up, will you? I’ve been with the kid the longest. Is it any stretch of the imagination to say he trusts me?” Spyro faced her shrugging. “And need I remind you, and apparently I need to, I’ve been here since I hatched, meaning I know this place like the back of my claw. If there’s anyone who should give out tours, it’s me.”

Stealth Elf was perceptive as a ninja-that stink eye was giving him could shred any lies to pieces. Spyro kept confident though, on the count his argument was logical by no stretch of the truth and it was just in his nature. As expected, she sighed in defeat. “… Fine. You’re sure you don’t want a few hands extra, though? You know, to give him the full Academy experience?”

“Yeah,” Eruptor added flexing his stubs for quotes. “Wouldn’t want the kid to miss whatever could help make that ‘big decision.’”

The dragon rounded the corner with a lighthearted scoff and a chuckle on the air. “Please, as if I need anybody’s help. Especially with a tour. Just show the kid a few classrooms and stuff, wham! Tour done. No problem!”

Spyro flapped away focused on the two until they vanished behind the building. He gave a talon up when their glares went deeper. But by the time they were out of sight, he snorted away his joyful facade dropping to the ground massaging his cheeks.

He had to remind himself fortune was blowing breezes behind him, the cards in the game had fallen in his favor even without his intervening. The only thing Cody was searching for since the moment he arrived were exit signs and so was bound to side with anyone who’d send him on his way with a gentle nudge. Matters of the wild blue yonder aside, someone who screamed and ran at the first sign of villains couldn’t cut it as a Skylander, magic or not. Rather than saddle the kid with the hero life, it was better to let him go free.

“If he still wants to leave at the end, guess that’s that,” he called out on foot. At the end of the grassy walkway by a small tower was Cody huddled atop a large root. He morphed and pushed his fangs into his best smile once more.

“Even if he has to bring a passenger along for the ride…”

* * *

 

The shadows of the entrance drew back exposing Kaos’s beaten face, deepening the beastly scowl and bruises he now sported. He trudged inside hunched with his fists crackling with black lightning. Whatever sum of boasting he made for his powers, the defeat handed to him was an unpleasant slap to the face. Glumshanks was several steps behind as he reached the center of the room and stood there quivering, earning apprehensiveness from the loyal troll.

“Well, sir,” Glumshanks noted pressing his nails together. “Your mother was adamant in wanting us to leave the castle for the day. I think we can both agree today was beyond any doubt eventful, so… “

“Silence, you idiot!”

Kaos continued to quiver, fingers twitching with exposed veins. “It is my destiny as the greatest Dark Portal Master in existence to be the scourge of the Skylands. Yet I was defeated, nay, humiliated by a random, uppity cadet and his fledgling Portal Master! It’s not fair, it’s not fair, it’s not fair!!”

The shrieks of the wicked Portal Master crashed upon the room as he dropped to the floor in a childish tantrum. He pounded his fists and flailed his legs with the icy stone floor bruising his toes and hands. He rolled on the ground back and forth, his screams morphing into cries and unintelligible words. Glumshanks plugged his ears staring with a grimace of pity and shook his head wandering over towards the table.

“Utter injustice from those heroes-in-training sir, but there’s always the promise of tomorrow for evil and mayhem.” The troll released a finger and wiped off the excess earwax trudging to the table and scooping a set of scrolls. “Best to make the most of this by tackling your list of practice spells.

Kaos sniffled with a wheezing breath. “Don’t insult me! Those spells are for three-year-olds!”

“Might be an adequate challenge for you then…”

The evil child snapped up and was at Glumshanks’ front in a heartbeat with a finger to his warty jaw. “I’m not sure I understand your comment there, Glumshanks. Were you trying to say ‘please, Master Kaos? Please tie me to the roof with a metal rod through my gullet and use me as a lightning rod?’”

“Why not? We’re well past using it for any reasonable purpose…”

Kaos shoved the troll off the table and paced away into circles back at the room’s center. Emulating the visage of a true villain, he gave his chin a stroke. “How am I meant to bring darkness and destruction to the Skylands at this rate? My servants were worthless-present company included-dispatched with a near sneeze by that smart-aleck dragon. Also, as if things weren’t unfortunate enough, I can sense the potential of my powers dwindling away. Years of study and practice and mere parlor tricks is the limit of my magic? It’s nowhere near enough…”

“Look at it this way, sir.” Glumshanks stood and dusted himself. “I hear magic energy orbs make for excellent Skyball substitutes.”

“Kaos!”

“M-mother?” Kaos shrieked. He ruffled his robes back into a decent-enough quality and pulled the neck to hide his purple welts.

The footsteps of the evil empress made no sound as she near-floated into the room. Her long-fingered hands clasped together casting her displeased gaze onto him as he squeaked. “Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for,” she froze at her son’s beaten animal-reminiscent form. He only looked away trying to shroud his face with his robe’s neck. “Well, I guess that answers my question. For once I’m in a good mood coming into this sorry dump, which I never thought was even possible.”

“Well, mother. I’m glad my getting trounced by a Skylander served such a worthwhile purpose…”

“A single Skylander did this? Yeah, I am up on Cloud Nine,” Kaossandra brought her hands to her chest. He steeped with poise to descend over him as she always did. “But I’ll laugh at your incompetency later. I’m here to tell you I’m leaving the castle for a spell. I have a list of errands to attend to for today.”

“Your errands again,” her child muttered. “Mother, you never tell me what these supposed errands are.”

“And that is because it’s my business so keep your snout out of it,” Kaossandra scolded. “As always when I am away you are not to enter my Me-Ditation Chamber so don’t go getting ideas in that depraved little mind of yours.” He’d flinched and fell back watching his mother make for the door with as much haste as regality allowed. She stopped at Glumshanks’s side, speaking without looking.

“Make sure he stays put this time.”

“As you wish, madam,” the troll muttered with the same indirect manner.

Kaossandra slammed the door and light and air in the room returned for Kaos. Without his mother and her disapproval to bring a painful death to his ambitions, the evil child leapt to his feet. The weed of a smile spreading across his face turned terrifying at full length. “Glumshanks, I have a brilliant idea!”

The troll sighed. “And if I could wager a guess to what, I’d say it was sneaking into your mother’s chambers in the castle? Then find her book of dark magic to take revenge on the Skylanders?”

“How did you guess?” Kaos stood disturbed.

“Just a shot in the dark…”

“Well, you’re wrong! That wasn’t my plan… just, fifty percent of it,” Kaos dusted his robes and ascended the steps. “As great a satisfaction it would be to wipe those do-gooder Skylanders out of existence by myself, it has come to my attention I need a little extra oomph. I want them to know utmost despair and humiliation. I need an elite team of associates, and I know just the pack of miscreants for the job.”

He craned his head across the way, past his scribbled scrolls and dirtied blackboards hung a series of wanted posters with imaginary radiance. Figures of grotesque beings, wicked-looking and deformed with a convenient ominous lightning beneath their forms. A werewolf, a pepper-headed chef, decrepit men, and a woman with a golden complexion in the largest portrait in the center. A boyish twinkle of admiration shined in the eye of the wicked child, grinning a bone-popping grin.

“The Doom Raiders, sir?” Glumshanks asked with an actual tone of voice.

“Don’t they scream wickedness, Glummy?” The evil child took his table cluttered with sculptures of the same people and dusted them on the shelf. He picked from the floor and embraced clippings of reports of their various misdeeds, from grand larceny to destruction of property, shivering with notoriety. “I have followed their evil careers from the beginning. It was my dream to walk in their various-sized and shaped footsteps! And now is the perfect chance to meet them!”

“A boy with a dream. Adorable, I suppose, even if it’s you. But sir, don’t you think-“

Kaos picked him from the ground with his magic and through the door, into the depths of his mother’s massive castle.

There was a reason his little my-first-lair hung in the shadow of that grandiose palace with its pillars and angular ceilings lost into an endless void. Every individual speck remained pristine and stainless like gems illuminated by the flaming sconces lining the halls. Their trespassing footsteps as silent as they made them cracked upon the floor shattering the silence. The violet light that poured in exposed his slouching shadow shoving it into the dark so cover the shameful stain. His mother’s condescending gaze embedded itself into every brick or dim wisp in the flaming sconces lining the halls.

Yet he carried himself with greater pride. He had yearned to instill the same fear in innocent souls the Doom Raiders did when the hapless and weak spoke their names, even while imprisoned. He paced those gloomy halls as a conqueror, closer to that dream than ever, taking his first steps towards ultimate dominion.

Even though he did so with the irksome troll at his side nagging him to no end.

“Need I remind you sir, that the Doom Raiders are among the most, a generous number of people have testified, the most dangerous villains the Skylands has ever known?”

“Yes, Glummy. Don’t they sound wonderful?”

“Well, they might have once. Prominent members of our world’s society until they took a turn for the worse and turned to terrorizing people and spreading mayhem,” the troll sighed. “Years of fear-mongering just got the lot of them one-way tickets to the most secure cell in Cloudcracker Prison.”

“Indeed, the best of the best for the worst of the worst.”

Glumshanks jumped before him. “So then, sir, if I may be so bold. How do you plan on getting, quote, ‘the worst of the worst’ to play the roles of supporting actors to yourself?”

The troll’s small burst of boldness had gotten him a pull by the ear to Kaos’s face. “Oh, Glumshanks, my dear, feeble-minded Glumshanks, how little you understand the code of villainy. It’s simple. The Doom Raiders will be my loyal servants and follow my every order because, well, I’m not giving them a choice!”

“Is that a fact?”

“Must I explain everything!?” Kaos raised the troll via dark magic and swung his entire body in emphasis. “If they don’t serve me, I don’t free them. But if they pledge their undying loyalty and gratitude and follow my every whim no matter how trivial, then I show them mercy and they’re free as birds. Vicious, bloodthirsty, wicked birds of prey that will peck at the eyes of any Sky-loser I point them towards!”

Glumshanks dropped to the ground released from his master’s magical hold. “Genius, sir. And I suppose you’ve considered this but, ah… in the obscene, unexpected scenario they try to double-cross you? No doubt you’ve done your research, but I believe it best to remind you they weren’t locked up in the Skylands’ most secure jail for littering and jaywalking.”

“All deliciously evil in their own right, I might add.”

“You should know, since they’re the best you’ve pulled off…”

Kaos kept his back turned, denying the troll to see the cogs in his head spinning for a solution. “Well… there will be misgivings in the aftermath but I suppose I’ll have no choice to destroy them.”

“Right… classic fallback.”

His servant troll was concocting nonsense scenarios, the evil child determined, his genius passing for prophecy. All villains shared the common goal of spreading misery and remaking the world to satisfy their ambition. And even the most deplorable recognized concepts of gratitude and the toiled efforts of a determined soul wising to plunge the Skylands into his namesake of a state. Or at least one with greater power. The noble heroes of this world had gorged themselves on the times of peace and evil crushed underfoot and now was the perfect time to change the tides.

Endless flights of stairs later, as designed to repel him as Kaos thought, they arrived at a chamber at the top of the tower. Onate markings resembling locks and hideous faces parallel to the ominous gargoyles on either side adorned the massive door. The evil child shivered through his robes, an unnatural mist of force seeping through the stone. It triggered the dark magic that soon went wild and blasted the doors wide.

From the ceiling above rays poured into the room, pushing back the shadows into reverence at the sides. The only thing of note was the pedestal in the center, and atop it, a heavy tome encrusted with violet crystal. Taking it in his hands, silent, demonic whispers fluttered into his ears, and power flooded into his twitching digits.

“This is it, Glummy…” he whispered smiling. “This will make it all possible.”

“Sir, allow me to make my case once again. It’s not too late to go back to the room and study. Or perhaps enjoy a nice jigsaw puzzle or make collages with your article collections.”

“Silence! I’m in the middle of a dramatic moment!”

The book lifted itself from his hands into the air and he levitated after, almost pulled by strings of fate. Black sparkling streams swirled around them both intoxicating the air with a haze of malevolence. The storm flooding into and all around his body contained a force beyond his wildest imaginings, tantalizing him to his deeper yearnings of deity-level actions. All sense of the world faded in his maddened cackle as the symbol on his forehead set the room alight in an infinite violet glow.

Contrary to his expectation coming out of that sweeping light, Kaos found himself with his troll servant next to him in a cramped rock cell. He blinked away near euphoria holding onto iron bars and gaping. Lost in the light he remembered crashing doors, the screams of guards, zapping, leading up to the slide of iron bars in his face. His manic grin lost its steam sending the fuel to his twitching eye.

Glumshanks slapped his head beside him giving a tired sigh. “Yep, you are a miracle worker…”


	8. A Glimmer of Hope

The dungeon was dark. It was desolate.

It was an unhallowed cesspit in the sky meant to run one through with regret the second one trudged in to never again see daylight. That stench of rotting meat with the cranking of gears began the lengthy torture with a combination meant to make convicts spill their guts. Scores of torture utensils from whips to guillotines gave the guards options for their evil-branded-justice by drawing screams of guilt and forgiveness. Once hollowed and stripped bare of spirit, all that remained was the ice coldness of the bars he now gripped, surrounded by stone walls infested with mildew turned black to cement their fate.

It was more stunning than in the evil child’s most diabolical dreams.

Kaos’s faithful troll was pacing right behind failing to grasp his rapture. “How did it come to this? I lived a good life, I joined books clubs, did outdoor productions, developed an honest love for philosophy and scientific theory. I graduated valedictorian-with a minor in Music Therapy! Ancients tell me how a lifetime of education and appreciation for the arts went straight down the literal latrine!?”

The evil child’s huff turned to amused laughter as the troll sprained his foot kicking the broken toilet. Glumshanks scrounged for dignity with his shovelful of boasts based on worthless school accomplishments. The proper technique for being a quiet footstool was the only worthwhile education he’d need.

“Oh, Glumshanks, how can you not see the wonderful irony of this?” He raised his arms wide.

“Believe me, sir. I have only ever seen the irony of it,” the troll said massaging his enlarged toes. “Though if you’ll care to enlighten me?”

Kaos grabbed him by the shirt. “This is a massive step forward in forging my legacy as the greatest evil overlord in the Skylands. I, or should I say we, now face life in prison in the most impenetrable jail in this world, meaning they recognize us as true criminals at last! This is without a doubt due to the threat I posed to those lunkheaded guards when we first entered.”

“You grabbed a guy and put up a rusty spoon to his face,” a uniformed Mabu guard in the corner sighed. He had peeked from his newspaper with a half-asleep look.

“In my hands it was a lethal weapon!”

“I’m not cut out for the penal system!” the panicked troll rattled the bars. “Tell me there’s a chance to get released on good behavior! Picking up litter in the alleyways, donating to charity funds, even singing sea shanties to the inmates! I have enough experience in all the above departments! Whatever pays my debt to society!”

“Quiet, you wart-infested buffoon!” 

Kaos paced to the back wall, the serene murk relieving him of Glumshanks’s ear-grating complaints and obscuring his thoughts. He grabbed the spell book out of his robes and sat in the murk ignoring the dampness. “Massive steps forward aside, this shouldn’t have happened. This book should have given me enough power to blow this place to smithereens!” He scowled tapping the wing-shaped jewel in the center, smudging it with his prints. “Methinks I need more oomph…”

“Methinks this will lead to regret, but if it means tasting sweet freedom, I will shoulder the consequences on my conscience,” the troll’s eye twitched moaning. “Heaven forbid these words escape my lips but… do what you have to do, sir.

The evil child wafted his fingers and closed his eyes, the tome pulsing with a foreboding violet glow with motes of light drawn from the open pages. An ebony smog arose wrapping its tendrils around it. “Viribus umbram tuae uires indicare. Ostende mihi viam in qua non quaerere!” 

The smog surged out and swirled around his head, bloating the ravenous shadows and consuming his form. He twitched with the spikes of migraines, bites into his mental state, from the plumes of magic rushing inside fueled by a desire for his thoughts. Opening his lids, a black backdrop devoid of sound and vividness surrounded him, the walls and ground he brushed upon no different from hardened vacuums of air. The force was making a feast of his psyche starving him into madness as he raked his digits along the space.

Yanking back control snarling, he glanced at the violet lines tracing the outlines of the jail-from Glumshanks and the guards to the textures of the cell and the crystal lights overhead. A line sparked from his feet along the empty diagram expanding into an illuminated violet hole. Into the hole dove his mind’s eye into a small room and through a network of passages turning at seconds of notice. The path sped more with the light intensifying. Until everything turned to white, and his eyelids shot open.

“I have it! I have a fix on the location of the Doom Raiders!”

“Wonderful, sir,” Glumshanks was on his knees pulling at the bars. “But the small matter of our imprisonment may or may not have been brought to your attention…”

“Not a problem!”

Recharged by the mist, Kaos’s dark orbs grew and crackled. They shot out as bolts destroying the weak cell with a shock wave of mist, the metal pipes blowing out or disintegrating. Glumshanks scrambled out crab-like batting his eyes at the lack of bars.

“Ha-ha! Sweet freedom! The euphoria that is life beyond prison!”

A shrill alarm cancelled out Glumshanks’ joy. A wave of Mabu guards armed with batons and shields soon appeared blocking the exit.

“Prisoners escaped!”

“Hands in the air, dirtbags!”

Kaos clasped his hands together and a black and violet vortex formed trembling in his palms. It thundered out and blew the guards against the walls, knocking their weapons from their hands. Distorted ripples of light flowed from their bodies and they lifted into the air guided by the evil child’s fingers.

In a concerto of sadism, he hummed and twirled, picking the helpless guards and sending them crashing into one another. He watched their faces with glee for muffled scream and grimace of pain. Kaos snapped his fingers, bringing the guards dropping with a final jolt.

“Dare I say any further, but that was… impressive, sir.” Glumshanks observed with awe from the floor. “If I could wager a guess, I’d note that as the Grey Danube in E Minor.”

“There’s a traditionalist inside me, Glummy,” Kaos shuffled up staring back at his victims splattered on the floor. “Though I thought I’d add a personal touch to a classic.”

“And here I thought the highest grasp of your musical taste was Row, Row, Row Your Boat. Regardless I am back to pursue academia! Higher learning awaits!”

Two figurative and literal steps back and the room was once more filled with a half-ring of armed guards. As much as Kaos enjoyed the pained groans of guards to classical tunes, he fumed refusing to waste any more time when his wicked idols awaited.

“What now, sir? I don’t suppose you’d be willing to play an encore?”

“That was merely the opening act. But if the masses want more, then I believe it’s time for you to take center stage,” Kaos said to his servant’s confusion. “I have use of the greatest talent in your repertoire, dear Glumshanks.”

“To begin with, I’m surprised you know what repertoire means. Second, I fail to see how my talents as a thespian can get us past these guards in any way other than racking up points for good behavior.”

“When did I say that, you idiot? I’m referring to using you as a meat shield!”

“Wha--“

Kaos blasted his servant rolling into the guards that flattened him to a splotch on the ground. He ripped his fingers out, opening the glowing hole he envisioned and dove into the dim glow. The troop of officers either gawked at his trick or turned their batons to the dazed Glumshanks he abandoned in his escape.

“So… anyone familiar with Row, Row, Row Your Boat?”

.

Kaos raced cackling through the halls, guards along the way with poor timing in place of training found themselves immobile after a quick zap by his magic. The rank and file of convicts, garbage restricted to proper behavior, shouted out cheers when he passed leaving a trail of unconscious authority. Their numbers shrank in the farther corridors flashing with a near viral abundance of crystals. 

He arrived at a massive room dyed in an intense shade of blue, twice the size of the chamber he first entered. Every inch of his skin tingled with the energy flowing free, the crystals’ searing light supercharging the atmosphere. It became suffocating as he stepped towards a massive metal door: a final warning to any who approached, good or evil. He raised his arms up reaching for the handles. The heavy rings dragged up with his magic, and cascades of dust shifted from the bolted rim as a giant creak echoed.

“That’s as far as you go, Kaos!”

He only peeked behind at the accented call, needing to be ripped from his crowning moment. A gator-man clad in golden armor stood behind him, his pupils and blue scales sharp as knives. He raised his glacial blades and merged them into a bow with the frosted tip aimed right at his head.

“I don’t care for any insurrections in my prison!”

“Snap Shot, right? The famous Trap Master and head of Cloudcracker Prison?” Kaos grinned. “I only ask since there’s too many of you Sky-pukes for any decent villain’s tastes.”

“Most on my side feel the same in terms of you and yours,” said Snap Shot. “So why don’t you go back to your cell with no trouble and we’ll pretend this incident never happened? But if you’ve still got a smidge of troublemaking left in you, there’s always the less peaceful method. Your choice, mate.”

“Not even a Trap Master is a match for me, you fool!” The evil child shot back facing him.

“We’ll see!”

Snap Shot drew back his string as Kaos charged his black orbs. The two circled the room, light dimming as if drawn into a black hole formed by their deadlocked glares. They snarled wordless threats and taunts, veins pulsating with tension right through their skin. Their eyes shot open, and both fired.

The ice arrow with its jet of frost, the sinister black orb, they clashed with surges of power released that broke the foundations of the crystal. They exploded in a blast of indigo smog and light. Both rebounded from the burst of energy along the walls towards a second clash, sending them to their starting points.

Snap Shot drew a set of arrows and fired at a chunk of falling crystal. A crack of lightning shone as they shattered in midair. Kaos shielded his eyes from the light released, squinting under the shadow of his sleeve. The form of the gator man phased in with his heavy bow raised ready to cleave him into rubble. He raised his free hand and a swirl of smoke and rippled violet emerged, a wall of magic. The bow crashed with the force of a tidal wave against a cliff, his shield enduring by a thin margin.

“Pretty tough for an underhanded imp!” The gator-man growled out, his audacity remaining in droves.

“So, you now realize your doom is for certain!”

The two jumped back and Kaos bounded with lightning whips in each fist. Snap Shot parried them with swings from his blades releasing cracks of energy and booms that sent the walls into shudders. The warden’s predatory gaze alone could fulfill the work of his blades slicing through the crystals like butter. Kaos squinted with the debris, his whips dissipating.

The evil child in mid-blink found himself launched back and pinned by his robes against a stone wall, his skull throbbing, with ice arrows on his sleeves and hood. Snap Snot set his bow to his side and trudged forward, heaving hard but clearing it with a mocking huff right in his face. Kaos grumbled with that stench of superiority he tried to force out of his airspace, at the heel of yet another Skylander.

“Life lesson for you, Kaos: good always triumphs over evil! Now, back to prison with you!" 

A cliché statement for any good guy but it was a verbal straw that broke the hydra’s back.

Kaos shrieked, a sphere of black and violet surrounding him. The arrows restraining him shattered into nonexistence and he levitated heads above the gator-man. The evil child raised his hands, the sphere rumbling and pooling into his palms spiking to three times its size with his maddening breaths. He forced it into the tile, the discharge shaking the entire prison and consuming the radiant blue into a malicious purple-black glow.

When it cleared, the room had gone near dark, save for any crystals that remained suspended. The evil child returned to the ground and sneered, raising his limp form to savor every beaten inch of the gator-man’s face. Snap Snot coughed, smoking and crackling with dark magic.

“You’re stronger than the reports said, but it doesn’t matter…”

“Is that so?” Kaos gloated. “I prefer to think it’s a nice bad day whenever evil gets a point on you miserable justice-toting buffoons.”

“You’ve won this round, true… but it’s still game over for you!”

The gator man pressed a silver button on his armor. The ravaged prison cried out in anarchy with blinding flashes of azure and the revived blare of alarms. Silver bars with spikes shut off the cells and the massive door behind him. Kaos shrieked tossing Snap Shot to the side and gaping at defeat in bold, rusted steel letters.

“Not to give villains advice, but you shouldn’t go screaming out your plans when you barge in the door!” He said crawling up to his knees. “The Doom Raiders… will never be released!”

“…You made three mistakes today, Skylander,” Kaos declared, the tense veins in his hands going calm. He moved to clutch the pocket inside his robes where the book lay, its force shifting to his hand with sinister undertones. “The first was attempting to imprison me. The second forcing demands onto me… and the third, was thinking you would get away with any of it!!”

His façade ripped away revealing a rabid animal’s bloodlust, shrieking with wanton blasts from his dark bolts. They tore through the walls and ripped into the defensive bars which only held for so long under his tantrum before turning brittle and crumbling. Snap Shot gasped as Cloudcracker’s last defense, the final ray of hope for their precious peace shattered with a wave of smoke. Kaos snickered wringing his hands and walking into the dust from the ruins of the door, taking a foot upon a chunk of metal.

Conquest awaited.

* * *

Kaos went breathless catching sight of the villains he had spent emulating together in one place. The grotesque and menacing lot of them sat there inside a crackling force-field suspended above the patrolling guard’s heads. Relics of another time with no resistance left, they remained numb to his arrival.

Black brambles infecting the pristine mineral ground held up the Doom Raiders’ mystical cell in submission. Meshes of crystal along the brick walls, having long lost their shine, towered towards the squall of darkness overhead as a second cell. The towers flashed and hummed with a strike of lightning, wrathful and sadistic in its break of the pallor. Free folk of the Skylands wanted any overseers from their lore to know the vilest of evildoers were subject to judgment, reinforcing the Skylanders’ regime of order. Standard walls were only fit for standard villains, yet the fury of nature was a more fitting, if terrifying type of prison.

His robes snagged along the jagged stones in the yard, no sense of heat or cold touching him in the open expanse. The patrolling guards charged at him, but the spike of his powers repelled them. Not a speck of attention or movement of hands was even worth the effort anymore. Kaos’s eyes went bulbous seeing them finally turn to him.

He cleared his throat. “Greetings, Doom Raiders! My fellow compatriots in evildoing! It is an honor to meet those regarded by many as the most dangerous among the Skylands.”

“What that?” The gelatinous, barnacle covered creature in the back asked pointing. “He look like something me chew up and spit out.”

“Gulper, boy, I know my cookin’s looked better than that, even after you got through with it!” The pepper-headed chef cackled.

“Looks more like a gremlin in pajamas if you ask me, Pepper Jack!” The metal-wearing wolf strummed his bone-harp. “Hey, little man, you run away from your mommy or something?” The others soon joined him in laughter.

This was not what he imagined.

“Enough!” 

The others turned to her, brilliance flashing with every step searing unworthy eyes black. Her regal attire didn’t dare touch the sullied prison platform as her strut morphed it to solid gold. Her ruby eyes carried his commoner reflection, the sight of it sending him shuddering with his spirit decaying into his appointed status as garbage. The statuesque empress lazily raised a jewel-encrusted finger pointing towards him.

“There must be some paltry magic in that scrawny body of yours if you could make it this far,” she spoke.

“Paltry?” he gaped. “I broke through a steel-plated door!”

“State your name, business, and why any of it should be of my concern.”

He cleared his throat and breathed. Dark magic hummed in an aura enveloping his form levitating up to the dome before them. “I am Kaaaoooosss, destined ruler of the Skylands! I am here to set you free so we may partake in misdeeds together!”

“Ain’t that sweet, Chompy?” A decrepit man in a green robe said to the googly eyed puppet on his hand. “Now we got playground bullies come to help us nasty old Doom Raiders bust out?”

“Sounds like they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel, Chompy!” The puppet answered in a high-pitched voice.

Kaos cleared his throat. “I come with a proposal to you–if you swear your loyalty, I will release you from this prison. Fail, and you…” he gulped, “can stay in there forever.

“My word, those are rather problematic demands,” a green-skinned gentleman by top-half and mechanical spider at the bottom murmured tapping his fingers. Kaos cared for the show of politeness but couldn’t help but catch the smug undertone. “I believe it’s only reasonable we inquire as to her Goldenness for her word on the matter. What say you, my Queen?”

“What’s there to say, Doc Klankcase?” the wolf growled giving a harsh shove to the doctor. “Peewee here just crawled in looking for a chance at duet with the real stars! I say let him run back home and play for his toy audience until he learns to get real stage presence!”

“Wolfgang say good!” Gulper chortled.

“Noooo!!!!”

That sharp scream tore apart any shred of dignity or self-confidence he built up to that moment. Kaos rushed to the edge and threw himself on the ground bowing to them with tears forming. “Please, please, please say you’ll agree to my proposal! I’ve come too far to just turn around and go home! Can you imagine the scores of unpleasantries I endured to get here? I even brought my mother’s spell book just so I could find where you were being kept!” His sweaty palms grabbed the book to display, slipping from his grip in his eager trembling.

“Oooh-wee,” Pepper Jack laughed. “Needin’ some special book from his mommy to get here. Don’t know ‘bout y’all, but that just leaves a nasty taste in my stomach.”

The vulgar Doom Raiders laughed again, leaving Kaos a puddle of shame melting in his robes. He could only clench the book and grip its bindings to the point of ripping them apart. Millenniums’ worth of power in that evil tome and it couldn’t even move him to a level where he could at least receive spit from heroes or villains. But a ray of hope gleamed when she, the magnificent Golden Queen stepped before him. He dragged his gaze to her, a pondering lip without turning away from him, even morphing to a smile.

Was she… interested?

“Let us not be too hasty, Doom Raiders,” she spoke. “This eager young warlock has made a great risk to release us. And if it means freedom and the chance to once more spread darkness across the Skylands, the chance should not be spurned on arrogant whims.”

“But your Golden Goldiness!” the puppet wearing munchkin spoke.

“You want to owe him?” His puppet talked.

“You’d deny your Queen her desire, Chompy Mage?” she asked, hand gleaming with golden light. The protesting man yanked back his puppet and held his tongue. “Now then, Kaos? We shall grant you the honor of an audience. Let’s hear what you have to say.”

“You mean it?”

“I am a queen of her word.” She smirked. 

A giddy squeal squeezed out of the evil child’s open jawed smile. The swarming euphoria over the glorious moment as he bounced in place babbling and swooning. The Queen smiled at his embarrassing show, though twitched when he dragged the glorious moment longer than her or her cohorts’ liking. “Ah, before that, there is the small matter of our release,” she reminded him.

He stopped mid-bounce. “Right away, your Golden Gildedness!”

Kaos’s demeanor switched from ecstatic geek to dominating warlock in an instant. The ground rumbled as he rose, eyes glowing and dark bolts flowing from his body, razing the walls and gem towers into ruins. The dome surrounding the Doom Raiders groaned rippling with irritation with fissure forming along its surface. Kaos strained and roared against the might of Cloudcracker Prison itself as it crumbled around him while the barrier swelled and reformed as quick as it could under his assault.

An army of Mabu soldiers led by Snap Shot climbed the steps in time to see the sky ripped apart by an unholy cross between lightning and Kaos’s dark magic. They ducked from the blinding flash and grit their teeth with the shatter ringing. Recovering from the stun, their faces went awash with horror at what was behind their drawn arms.

Kaos floated with power to spare in the black orb in his right hand. Beside him were the Doom Raiders, their feet touching the prison ground surrounded by free air for the first time in centuries. The Golden Queen was right by the evil child’s side, raising her finger and with a shimmering sparkle, Cloudcracker’s final defense had become a series of gold trophies commemorating their freedom.

“Doom Raiders, we are free once more!” The Golden Queen chanted. Her minions raised their hands joining her.

“Oooh, Chompy!” The puppet spoke. “What’s go say we celebrate by chomping a bunch of Skylander heads to paste?”

“You read my mind, Chompy!”

Chompy Mage cackled and shot away in a trail of green light and noxious gas. The puff of smoke in the wake of his leave knocked the guard statues away, the foul stench like acid corroding them. Kaos watched baffled as the demented sorcerer turned into a sickly green twinkle in the sky.

“What gives?” Kaos stared at the distant star. “I thought we were going to be one big mean dream team! Where’s the love for villains!?”

“Never mind Chompy Mage. I don’t know if you noticed but being in that dome for so long had a way of making him stir-crazy, on top of his regular crazy.” The Golden Queen had kneeled beside him with her hand on his shoulder. The touch was icy yet illuminating, spine-tingling, everything Kaos had come to expect from her. He closed himself in on his spell book to hide the undignified combination of his blush and toothy smile.

“Now… we can talk terms.” She traced her finger along the book in his hand with a cold smile.

* * *

A slow wave of Eon’s hand lifted the furniture from the floor in a blue glow pale with weariness. He inhaled eyes shut as he pushed past his muddled emotions measuring the distance between the objects and walls. He stepped to the floor Portal lining the room, the glass sphere humming in reaction to his presence.

Trails of stars flowed from the inside, casting the room into the shade of a starry night, with twinkling lights. Clusters of stars pooled together and swirled into vortexes, one after the other, with brilliant spirals within their cores. A myriad of silhouettes appeared from inside of each one, floating to various points in awaiting of the word of the old wizard seeming oblivious in his calmness.

“Greetings to you, Sensei Skylanders,” Eon opened his eyes to attention. “Mightiest of warriors and seekers of heroes new. My old friends…” 

“Cut the honorifics, Eon!” One of them cut in, the rims of his mirror flaring and turning red. “Rumors are getting hot here in Skylands. Is it true that we got a new Portal Master?”

“Indeed,” spoke a female voice from another. “The news has spread like wildfire. These cadets and their baffling love for gossip...”

Eon pursed his lips touching the static fluff of his beard. Years of diplomatic communication amongst multiple species were being put to the ultimate test in choosing his next words. “It is true, the boy arrived just today, brought here with Jet-Vac’s class. Although, things have not gone as expected…”

“What does it matter? A new Portal Master after so long!” One portal bounced and spun in a merry ring around the others.

“Hold,” the gong-like ring of a voice from above the others spoke. The source descended to meet Eon, face to obscured face. “Elaborate on this, Eon.”

The old wizard peered into the Portal, his gaze ripping past shadow to see the dignified face of a penguin clad in armor. His beak profound as a blade and his stature as vast as an ocean he remained stoic in response to the old wizard’s long pause. Eon sighed, unable to meet the face of his friend in that moment. “I have spoken with the boy, King Pen. Though he has made it apparent he has no interest in becoming a student.”

The collective “What!?” rang out. Eon expected as much.

“This cannot stand!”

“Agreed, even now the darkness spreads! Are we to just sit and wait like mewling Mabu pups for this boy to change his mind?”

“I don’t buy it for a second!” came the aggressive accented-cry of a female from another window. “I’d wager my cutlass this screams of treachery. The opportune moment that a Portal Master deigns to grace us with his arrival, yet refuses to undergo training? For all we know, he’s already chosen a side…”

“Tide Pool, you’re not suggesting this new apprentice has fallen to darkness’s sway?”

The old wizard stepped forward focused hard on the accusing Portal. “I can refute this myself, and you’d place stock on my word. The boy possesses a gentle spirit, of that I am of firm belief.” The Portal returned to its post with a trail of bitter grumbles along the way.

“Perhaps so, but wars are not won through gentle spirits,” King Pen said. “If fate has graced us with the appearance of a new Portal Master, then we must seize the opportunity and help him develop his powers. You know most well that the wicked grant us no respite.”

Eon grimaced. “With due respect, old friend, the boy’s gentle spirit is overshadowed by his clear vulnerability. He is in no condition for battle. Pushing him into any manner of training will only yield the opposite effect.”

“So, your plan is to pamper this fledgling, as you did your star pupil?” the first asked. “His talents have grown well over the years, but his arrogance has grown a great deal more!”

“Eh, well…”

“Perhaps another teacher is best, lest you praise these new cadets for shaking hands!” One voice called out. “You insist the dragon is special, but we have discussed it and we believe you fritter any potential you have claimed to be there with your daily showers of praise!”

Eon dispelled the common ground of criticism with the clench of his hand. His creation of the hot-air spewing monster zooming by the window was an issue for another time. “This growing darkness has not escaped my notice, nor have counteractions against it been outside of my thoughts. More than anything, I believe they both, dragon and child, play a vital role in stopping it!”

“Yet you ain’t gonna do nothing to get them ready for it!” a far mightier voice roared. “I say send them both to King Pen! He knows how to turn a cadet into a real Skylander! He’ll whip those boys into shape!”

“Agreed, send them to King Pen!”

“Seconded!”

“That settles it!”

Eon’s presence went to black amidst the discussion, shutting his eyes as the blurs of light from the Portal swerved behind his eyelids. Sparks of concern and tension ground in the hardened warriors’ tones and as they spun discussing their options and his form hardened at the burn. Any pacifying words to grant strength to suppress their worry might be as effective as a breath against a thunderstorm.

They needed to see that silver lining in the clouds, a dragon and boy delivering the sun shining on their backs. He had seen greatness in Spyro since the day he’d found him as a hatchling atop a pile of Greebles in the Falling Forest. It lifted him on air seeing that same potential in Cody when the small boy came, closed off as he was, into his view. Young and worlds apart in every sense, but he smiled with the thought of the two of them becoming the closest of friends.

Eon opened his eyes once more. All the Portals had near joined into a mass of light, the silhouettes of the Senseis baring down on him. The Skylanders, regardless of rank, always heeded the word of a Portal Master, especially one of his caliber. The old wizard cleared his throat and stood straight, his arms folded behind him.

“Well, then. Consider this a new proposal,” he extended his hand towards them. “I wish for King Pen to keep surveillance on the two of them to keep track of their progress. To allay your doubts.”

“So, keep an eye on them?”

“Isn’t that what you’ve been proposing from the start? What is supposed to be different?”

“The difference is that I wish to take the initiative based on an old dream of mine, one formed when this institution first began,” said Eon. “If you all would allow it.”

“You’d squabble what little time we have with your experiments, Eon?” said Tide Pool.

The master smiled. “I believe this will work in everyone’s favor. If all goes well, Spyro and Cody will both gain the motivation they need in preparation for the coming days.”

Each of the Portals swerved, mimicking the thoughts of the veteran warriors. But King Pen’s voice came from behind to quell the mutterings. “You have elected that I train these two, so you would agree with my consensus on the matter. I will allow this. I have known Master Eon for the longest time, and I have complete faith in his judgment. Should things become unfavorable, I will step in. Is this suitable for everyone?”

Those murmurs rose again, but words came embedded within them and they sounded agreeable. The old wizard nodded, the obstinacy and pride molded into the personality of every Skylander laughable. “We have come to a consensus, then. Thank you for your time, everyone.” The old wizard raised his head bolstered with his hand clutched to his chest in settlement. “This meeting is now adjourned.”

Each of the windows drained into themselves, compacting into orbs of light. They burst into sparkles and soon the room returned to the normal tone of day. Eon stroked his beard walking up the steps towards the window, an intense focus beaming out to the school lot. 

He believed in them both, but if his suspicions were true, they had to believe in each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we’re back, folks!
> 
> Thanks to all the people who have given new comments and likes to my story. I’m glad it’s been catching fire a bit, especially now as things begin to move along. This chapter turned out okay in my opinion, a step in the right direction in terms of the writing style. Though I’ll try to step up by the next one.
> 
> The next two chapters will officially bring us to the quarter mark of the story. By then I’ll unveil my news. I have been making some adjustments on my notes for this story in the meantime, and it’s turning out well. The story’s turning out to be bigger than I thought it could be when it was an idea in my head. I hope more people will come to give their support. 
> 
> Honestly, I have to say as a writer that I really enjoy how people seems to have taken an interest in my original character Cody. It makes all the work I have put into developing him worth it. You’ll see even more of him as the story goes on and I hope anyone who can relate to him feels inspired by the growth he and Spyro will undergo.


	9. Chance of A Lifetime

There was a generous distance between Cody and Spyro as they went along the side of the school. Cody shifted in his steps while Spyro hovered along, sometimes quick enough to pull Cody into a normal walking pace. The boy clutched the sleeve of his jacket keeping his gaze on anything from the pebbles on the ground to the patches of flowers on the side.

He swallowed and pursed his lips. “…You didn’t have to do this. Show me everything.”

“Well, unless you got a compass in that jacket or a natural sense of direction, I’d say I do,” the dragon turned flying backwards. “Seeing as you’re gonna be a student, it might be a problem if you can’t find your way around the place.”

“I thought you said it was good I wasn’t becoming a student.” Cody furrowed his brow.

“Uh… really?” The dragon went lax folding his claws behind his back. “I think of myself as a model student, and so does Eon. Soooo can’t say that sounds like me.”

“But you said I dodged a—”

“Nope!”

“But-“

Spyro grabbed his shoulders and gave the boy a rattle. “Hey, hey, why focus on the there and then? We got us the here and now with our tour: lots to show, lots more to tell! Now come on, we’re burning daylight!”

The dragon shoved the boy along the path and into the thick of the campus. It appeared simple enough on the outside but inside it was a labyrinth of brick paths dotted with students chatting or on the move to their next class. Between keeping up with Spyro’s rushing and reaching for his hood Cody nearly fell flat on his face once or twice. That was at least enough to convince Spyro to settle back into a normal pace to their first stop.

Into a tower and climbing a spiraling flight of stairs, Spyro opened the door into the barest qualification for a room. A single cobbled brick wall and shade from a tree grown along the side, three rows with desks closing towards an open floor, and a small blackboard in front. Cody blinked wandering in towards the floor. Fingers clenched along his hood, he soon became frozen in place.

“It doesn’t have a ceiling, or that many walls...”

Spyro landed with a drifting chuckle. “Oh, trust me, there’s plenty of walls…”

Cody walked over towards the desk brushing a hand on the surface, staring wistfully into his reflection on the wood. “This really is a school, then. If it has classrooms…”

“Yeah, and we have classes and lectures too. Insane, right?”

The boy turned to his dragon guide. “Wait, is anyone holding a class here? Shouldn’t we leave?

“Nah, this here’s JV’s class. He cancelled it for the field trip today,” Spyro leapt in front of him perching on the seat. “Which is crazy because you’d think old grumpy-feathers would only stop class if it was the end of the world." 

“Right…”

The dragon grinned with a spark in his eyes and leapt into the seat, rapt with attention staring at Cody. “Going along those lines, what’s school like in your world? You got this kind of typical classroom setup or what? Are teachers there just as boring? How long are lunch breaks?”

Cody backed onto the floor. “Oh, um… actually—”

“Right, I hear you. Who gives a dragonfly about school?” The dragon burst from the seat onto the floor and leaned into Cody, forcing the boy back. “Got any special stuff you do after the bell rings? Maybe food? Sports? Just chillin’ in Casa de Cody? Details, man; what do you do for fun in your neck of the universe?”

“I-I-I don’t…. it’s not that I,” Cody’s back met the blackboard as Spyro continued to bare into him with those eager eyes with his tail wagging on hyper-drive. The boy gulped fussing over his jacket for a long moment.

“Come on, there’s gotta be-“

A familiar flicker and pop of green smoke flashed over Spyro’s head. Stealth Elf had appeared weighing down on him tracing circles on the dragon’s horn. “Hey there, guys! Just dropping in to check how the tour was going. I’m sure Cody’s getting every _second_ of the Academy experience. Right, Spyro?”

Spyro gave an eye at her as she vaulted to his side with a hand on her hip, her smile wide with knowing. “Haha, yeah. It’s… it’s going great, Elfy, real great. I mean, what? Are you shocked to see that I’m giving a proper tour here?”

“Honestly, I’m stunned a fire hasn’t broken out thanks to you messing with the Supercharger vehicles… again.”

The dragon flew to the boy and dragged him by the arm towards the door. “Yeah, well sorry we can’t stick around, but we were just heading over to our next stop. Big place, lots of stuff to cover, you know.”

She frowned. “Quick to move along. You sure you didn’t miss anything?”

“It’s a classroom, Elf. An empty one. Not much to miss.”

Stealth Elf popped in again before them with a hand in halting. “Yeah, that’s a flag-raiser right there. Not that I doubt you, of course, but seeing as you’re here of all places you must have taken the chance to cover the different classes we have?”

“What?” Spyro swatted a claw scoffing. “Course I did! As if I’d dodge something as important as education!”

“Well, actually…”

“Oh?” Stealth Elf focused a glowing eye on Cody’s roving gaze, catching the doubt written in bold letters. “Cody seems to think you’ve got the reflexes for it. Guess there’s a challenge in giving a tour, after all.”

This time, Stealth Elf popped behind Cody and ripped the boy out of Spyro’s grip. The dragon clenched his claws after the hand Cody drew back to himself as the elven girl pulled him back to the floor’s center. He dropped to the ground with his arms crossed watching, a dead pout on his features.

“Okay, Eruptor gave you a bit of a brush over, but there’s a lot we have to cover here. We’re not tossing you into a den of monsters right off the bat if that’s still freaking you out.” She pulled a pair of crescent blades with spiked golden hilts from her back, twirling them between her fingers. With skill on the level of second nature, she juggled and spun them while speaking. “The Academy has entrance exams you take to give the teachers an idea of where your skill level’s at and what has… room for improvement.”

“But I don’t have any idea how to fight… or do magic… or anything.”

Stealth Elf chuckled. “Don’t worry. I think Master Eon might make an exception in your case. Odds are you’ll get placed in Combat and Magic Fundamentals. You’ll get to cover most of the basics before anyone expects you to do this.” She flashed above the tree and drop kicked a branch, yielding a gentle shower of leaves. In a series of misty flashes she darted left and right with twirling slices with her blades. As she reappeared in front of Cody every left fallen from the tree had broken into bits before any could reach the ground.

“Wow…” Cody whispered.

“Like I said, best not try that until you’ve got a couple years under your belt.” Stealth Elf stood tossing up her blade and catching it without thought. “In the meantime, there’s the other standard stuff like History of Treasures, Herbology, Weapon and Armor Maintenance, Skylands Geography—"

“Ugh!” Spyro groaned behind them. “I’m falling asleep just hearing the names! Not that it hasn’t been riveting, Elf, but we still got tons of school to cover. So, bye!”

“Hey! Spyro!”

The dragon seized back Cody, scooping him up and flying him over the balcony. Stealth Elf ran over and watched as the two became a single speck disappearing into the shifting expanse of the Academy. The elven girl frowned with hands to her hips and a growl sounding past her sealed lips. She turned back, a loud sigh escaping her mouth as she vanished.

* * *

The empty calming classroom contrasted with their next stop, the Training Islands. The commotion from several machines in action as each platform was in constant rotation was nerve-wracking. It was a deadly gauntlet with swinging maces, razor blades, and pillars launching spines at a moment’s notice. Metal figures appeared from holes in the ground breathing fire and walls jutted at any random point. In the middle of everything were a handful of cadets maneuvering through the obstacles to the best of their ability.

The spiked mace swinging at the largest island had caught a pair of students and flung them off the course. Cody winced as they bounded off a glowing web surface materializing out of thin air. “Are those guys okay?” He pointed a shaking finger watching them slide to the bottom of the bubble.

Spyro spat. “Doubt it. They’re totally going to be feeling that next week.”

“This is crazy. They expect me to train on this thing?” Cody whimpered. “I’ll be turned into mincemeat the second I step onto it.”

“What you need is a smidge of motivation,” Spyro grinned. He bared low with claws firm. “Watch and learn.”

Spyro zoomed out of the gate and past a barrage of throwing stars before anyone caught wind of the purple blur. The dragon landed and flipped forward and back over the lower blades as if playing jump rope. He leapt up and grabbed the chain of the spiked ball swinging and yelling out, stopping the other cadets in mid training. The way he moved across every defense was like water through cracks, bouncing off the heads of the dummies and slithering in flight around the pillars before they closed in.

Cody blinked observing the ease with which Spyro moved, but the distasteful grumbles of the other cadets were also of note. Spyro had leapt off the tower on the last platform and bounced by his tail over the wall to reach the end, landing by Cody’s side once more. Despite his display, not a single other cadet gave any acknowledgement, only glared at him and returned to their own struggles.

The boy cleared his throat and the awkward silence. “You’re…. you seem good at this.”

“Seem nothing! I can run circles around this playpen with my eyes closed.” Spyro stretched in mock effort. “Want to watch me do it with my eyes closed?”

“Um… no thanks…”

“Your loss, it would have been epic.” Spyro leaned in again. “So, what’s your world got in terms of exercise? Not that I wouldn’t count you as a prime specimen like yours truly but folks in your parts must have a killer workout routine, I bet? Do you roll around on logs, or dodge beams? Is there anything with dangerous creatures involved? I mean, whatever gets your blood pumping, right?“

“W-Well… the thing is—”

An explosion boomed on the training course. The pair winced looking to the source where a lofty tower of smoke was rising from a pile of wrecked machinery. Out of the smoke with glowing between the cracks in his body was Eruptor, stopping out with a satisfied grin and his stubs burning. Drops of lava poured from them onto the wreckage, dissolving them into heated puddles.

“Speew-tiful!” The rock creature breathed in, looking to them and waving. “Spyro! Cody! What are the odds I’d run into you two over here at the Training course?”

Spyro’s head and wings drooped with a deadpan stare out to his classmate. “Yeah… I’m wondering that myself.”

“Oh, well nice to see you too, sunshine-scales.” Eruptor noted the sour look on the dragon’s face but turned to Cody. “Thought I’d stop by, get in a few rounds at the course. Pure coincidence, by the way; it’s not like I knew you’d be here because that would be spying, and I’m not spying. Wild guess, again totally random, but I’m guessing you got cold feet with this stuff?”

Cody nodded.

Spyro crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “Wow, it’s like you can see inside his timid ten-year-old brain. Tell us what his shoe size is too.”

“Normally I’d stuff a fireball down your smart mouth for that, but I’ll ignore it.” Eruptor’s glare gave the impression of volcano on critical mass, but he took Cody and moved to the edge of the starting gate. “Now what you gotta do is let loose, get your head into game mode. There’s a trick to the machines; I figured it out after class a couple weeks ago.”

“A trick?” Cody asked.

“Oh, yeah. You just need to time it to this old song my nana taught me when I was a little pebble.” The rock creature took Cody’s shoulder in one cooled stub and gestured to the course with the other. “See, the machines move at this one set speed, and you keep in time with the best to get past the obstacles-I figured it out from watching Elfy on the course every day for a few weeks. I got this crazy big headache afterwards though.”

“Real fascinating, E.” Spyro grabbed Cody by the shoulders and hoisted him. “Love to hear more, but I got a whole itinerary to get done.”

“Oh, what? I can’t give a few helpful pointers?” Eruptor melted into fury watching the dragon back away with the boy. “You’re the only one who gets to be good at stuff? That it, Mr. Talented?”

“What are you talking about? You got lousy timing down pat. You want to think about giving a lesson sometime? Later!”

With Cody in tow, Spyro vanished into the distance again. The rock creature’s eye twitched and body glowed with the sound of the dragon’s laugh as he escaped once more. He roared with a plume of fire shooting from the spike atop his head, the other cadets running at the sign of his temper. As he breathed hard in the aftermath, he caught the pool of magma flowing from the edges of the platform and grumbled to himself. 

“One of these days, Spyro. One of these days…”

* * *

Spyro was off like a bullet wasting no time as they reached their next destination. A single road with buildings on each side on a sole island and Mabus roaming the sidewalk. Cody tried talking his time, but Spyro pushed him forward almost propelled on engines. 

“Okay, so campus town is next up on the tour! Here’s the whole town!” Spyro zoomed in front gesturing to the entire area.

A simple explanation, but Cody remained looking baffled. “A campus town? So, this place is supposed to be connected to your school?"

Spyro grabbed his own horns and breathed through his nostrils, eye twitching. But like the flip of a coin he dropped the face and he was back to his usual cheery self. “Yup, sure. Everything for your basic Skylander needs! Gym! Bookstore! Day spa! Mission board!”

He flew towards each of the buildings, marked clearly enough for anyone to tell at first glance. The sign of a book for the bookstore, a dumbbell for the gym, a cloud for the day spa meant to mean relaxation, and crossed swords for battle likely marked the building for the mission board. Cody still stumbled around mouth ajar trying to make sense of the pictures as though they were scribbles on paper. Spyro only gestured harder to each sign multiple times, the picture more than enough clue as far as he and any furry pedestrian watching in the small town was concerned.

Spyro dropped his arms and zipped towards Cody in a flash. “Right, enough about that! I mean I bet you’ve got places like these in your world too, right? Heck, you’ve probably got way more spots than just this one rinky-dink street, I’m guessing?”

“You seem… really interested in Earth….”

“Ah!” Spyro’s pupils shifted, his body straight as a board. “Just call it… idle curiosity. It’s not every day someone from another world visits.” The dragon leaned in close. “More along those lines, I don’t suppose there’s anything you’re not seeing here that you usually see there? Something you’re used to seeing there? Something you wanna see here?”

“You know what I’d like to see?” A familiar girl’s voice called out. “You, giving an actual tour!”

Spyro flinched and forced his dead weight to drag around. Stealth Elf and Eruptor were both there with none too pleased looks on their faces. The dragon forced himself to smile as they approached, with an eye twitch Cody would have to be blind not to have noticed. “What can I say? I’m setting records for tours, here!”

“It’s been twenty minutes, dude…” Eruptor deadpanned.

“Yeah, well, the Academy’s not that big!”

Elf popped by his side with her arms crossed, pacing into him with one firm step after another. “Forget it, Spyro. You had your chance, and just like with everything else, you played Skyball with it and tossed it off the edge. We need the kid here; Master Eon needs him here. If you won’t take it seriously, Eruptor and I are taking over this thing.” 

“Not taking it seriously, are you serious?” Spyro flew up. “I covered this place top to top, what could I have missed? My memory is perfect, on top of everything else about me!”

“I guess we’ll find out,” Eruptor marched. “At least we’ll have more than a minute per place!”

Spyro gripped the grass watching his classmates move in on Cody, oblivious with one arm gripping the other. He flashed over and backed with Cody near held hostage as they closed in. “H-Hey, I got an idea,” he wrapped around the boy. “How about I show Code here this super-secret spot, the one I’ve been saving for the end. And you two, uh, head over to the bookstore and grab a campus map?”

“Nice try, Spyro!” Eruptor stomped leaning right into the pair’s faces. “But we ain’t doing you any favors this time!”

“But what if-“

“No!” Eruptor shouted.

“Maybe if I—"

“Forget it!” Stealth Elf popped in.

“How about—”

“NO!!”

“Aahhh!”

Cody screamed and ran, near forgotten in the heat of the argument. Static from the tension between the three cadets still ran through him leaving him on his knees panting for air. The three stared at him on pins and needles frozen mid-reaction. Cody forced himself to swallow and take shuddering breaths winding down as he rose.

“Thank you… Spyro, everyone, for showing me around,” he spoke without turning, wringing his hands. “But, I really just want to go home. I’m sorry.”

The boy walked off, going into a jog, and finally into a full-blown run. The three were quick to turn on each other with glares and angry rants, their voices unintelligible. A passing Mabu couple noticed and soon blew into an argument themselves. Cody half-turned back and saw how in no time the ripple effect had the entire town burning with chaotic noise. His features sinking, he shut his eyes and fled covering his ears.

Far enough away, Cody stretched with arms in place and unwound with the trickling of a flowing fountain. His hand moved almost dazed reaching for the smooth rock just inches away, propping himself down to sit. Fingers slid along the stone, his breath in time with the movement clear with no hitch or crack. The fragrance from the sprawling wildflowers filled his nostrils as he leaned into the seat, drips of water cooling his face. Cody’s hand dragged over his skin, rubbing on the bags starting to form.

He turned to the abundance of flowers right by his own hand and his eyelids squinted. Fingers that had been previously drained of life retreated as if the field were on fire. The boy pulled his knees to his chest blocking the field of flowers from view, harmful to his sight, gulping a multitude of nerves down his throat. “I shouldn’t be here…”

A bleating from his right sent him startled.

He turned to the culprit: a sheep with a full coat of wool wandering up to his side with innocent green eyes. Cody didn’t fully relax as the sheep bleated softer crossing to his side.

Leaning into the rock, Cody pulled a hand out and pet the small creature’s head. “At least there’s something in a world in the sky to keep me grounded.” The sheep melted into his touch, giving the boy enough boldness to pet its head whole. As the small creature readied to settle near him, there was no trace of a smile.

A familiar presence came close, explaining why. “Don’t let those little terrors pull their wool over your eyes…" 

“Ahh!” Cody leapt out of his seat.

Out of nowhere was the bespectacled Mabu Hugo, a club in one hand and a spray can in the other. The sheep’s eyes, once sweet green, turned blood red as it growled like a savage beast. Hugo and the sheep locked gazes and bared down as if waiting for the other to move and slaughter to break out. The sheep took half a step and Hugo screamed letting loose with the can of spray, a thick red fog with a stinging scent polluting the air.

“You won’t take another victim, foul demon!” Hugo’s voice called through the smog. “For the Skylanders, I shall smite thee!”

Cody, on the ground, fell back closing in. “I can’t take much more of this…”

An explosion rang out. In every part of the Academy, creatures looked to the source of the sound. Reactions ranged from alert stances to outright panic.

Something had come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I thought this chapter would come a little sooner than expected, but guess not since it took the standard two weeks. Various factors for that – sickness, work, school, not to mention doing a beta read for another user’s work. 
> 
> Anyway, this is going to sound redundant by now, but I don’t think I was too pleased with this one, and I have a pretty good idea as to why. I might go back and rewrite it in the future, but then again this could turn out okay in the long run. I’m still a developing writer myself, guys.
> 
> Hopefully by chapter 10 thinks will start picking up, since it will be the end of the First Act and when I’ll make my big announcement. Just think of this as the warm up for the big stuff coming in the next chapter when the Skylanders find themselves in deep water.


	10. A New Hero

 

A crowd of Mabus with the occasional cadet stampeded for the exit. In their tide of ranks the beam flashed from the Portal with the party of four racing past. Many of them looked behind at Spyro, hopping on heads leading the charge, and the boy, buried among them with his hood pulled. As the crowd boarded the winged boats at the end of the walkway, they ran into the entrance, towards the source of the danger. The consensus as they turned to each other was they were both crazy.

Though odds were, it was Spyro’s fault.

For Spyro, not even a Portal Master could have taken him fast enough to the coliseum, the one place on campus that still caught his eye. A final gateway surrounded by and stretching into infinity, a sacred place, infested with a plague of stalk-eyed vermin crawling over its walls munching it away. The pristine castle towers, embodying the watch of Skylanders past, now ruined with holes and chunks of stone fallen. Stands any other day filled with screaming fans were left abandoned with the creatures searching for spare concession-stand fare. It was eye-catching for all the wrong reasons.

 “W-What’s going on? Did we step into a feeding frenzy?” Eruptor asked.

“Look, in the ring!” Elf pointed. “Isn’t that…?"

Atop a mound of sickly green blooms expelling fumes and drips of slime was the villain himself dancing and hopping. The villain Chompy Mage of the Doom Raiders with his wrinkled features and bestial fangs complete with a green robe, staff in one hand and ridiculous puppet on the other. It was difficult to tell him apart from the authentic monstrosities under his command destroying everything.

“Chompy Mage?” Spyro went airborne, almost looking at a celebrity. “For real, Chompy Mage? Evil dud with the ‘I Love Chompy’ sign? Double record, one for the puppet? THAT Chompy Mage!?” 

“Yes, Spyro. That Chompy Mage.”

The dragon rolled out of his seat laughing when a classmate gave their report on the old wizard who somehow made the cut for a Doom Raider. A hermit who embraced the primitive nature of the Chompy, dimwitted creatures that attacked anything that moved. As his puppet told the authorities, he was born and raised a Chompy and thought the world was a step closer to utopia if everyone had beady eyes, green skin, and trash compactor mouths. Years of needed therapy were clearly left on the back-burner.

“The heck’s going on!?” Eruptor yelled. “The Doom Raiders were supposed to be locked up in Cloudcracker Prison! And Snapshot should’ve thrown away the key! All they could’ve done was tick off the guards!”

“Did something happen at the prison?” Stealth Elf wondered.

“I’m telling ya, I knew it wasn’t safe when we went there on our field trip! He must have dug under with spoons made of soap and toilet paper, or a guard got stabbed by that puppet!” 

Cody half jogged, half crept from out of their shadows. “What do we do?”

“The only thing we can do: find shelter and leave this to Master Eon and the Skylanders.” Stealth Elf moved her hand to the boy’s shoulder. “I’m sure they’ve already gotten the heads up. Explosions out of nowhere are usually a good hint something’s wrong.”

“Why wait?”

Spyro shot from out of their ranks. With laser focus, the world shrunk away, only him and the target in his sights. The dragon made a flying sprint for the evil mage in the ring, but stopped hard as a hand grabbed his tail. Gravity and backfired energy worked together slamming his jawline on a rock. Spyro cast a glance at the elven girl, but she didn’t want to take the hint to release him.

“What are you doing?”

“Hello? Bad guy at twelve o’clock and I’ve got the perfect chance to get the jump!” He yanked his tail back and flew above them. “Taking this guy down’s worth a trophy! Credits for graduation! Bragging rights for a year!”

Stealth Elf slapped her forehead groaning. “Okay, between broiling sheep for Hugo and one-upping Kaos, I can understand the confidence boost. But let me give you a much-needed reality check! We’re cadets; we’re not ready to handle this level of an enemy!”

“Maybe YOU’RE not, but no way I can’t handle some warped loony who clearly didn’t get out for good behavior!”

Eruptor growled seizing Spyro by the horn almost melting it with the sear of his stub. “For real, do you not know the meaning of the word ‘RESTRAINT!’ You cannot expect to take on Chompy Mage and walk out in one piece!”

Spyro pulled his horn back and gave a smirk. “The only thing I expect is for you guys to take notes on how to beat a Doom Raider in record time!”

“Spyro… maybe we should wait.” Cody stuttered. “I mean… you could get—”

“Less talking, more baddie bashing!”

Spyro was out the gate, tackling away needless ‘voice of reason’ tendencies with the worst timing. Any more comments from his roommates were wind on the ears. The sun hit his scales as he soared onto the stage setting his own time.

The dragon took a spot far out of reach above the demented villain. Teachers and students alike tended to nay-say everything from capabilities to common sense in him, but he was farther from humiliation than they preferred to think or hope. Chompy Mage turned to him mid-cackle with a hop on the plump blossom he stood on, his puppet thrown back in laughter with him.

“The jig is up, Chompy Mage!” Spyro jabbed a talon with laser focus.

“What have we here, Chompy Puppet?” The old man grinned. “One little Skylander cadet on his own! He don’t look like a Chompy!”

The puppet moved on its own. “Then I don’t like him!”

“The feeling’s mutual! You and your big-jaw in-laws are going to be spending quality time together back in Cloudcracker Prison!”

“Your bark is obviously worse than your bite, little dragon, as opposed to us Chompies who keep it even!” Chompy Mage pointed his doll-tipped staff back at him. “Though I might be more of the mentality to spare you from a well-deserved chomping if you agree to become a Chompy!”

Spyro scoffed. “You kidding? I’d have to give up these devilish good looks, and you’re on a whole new level of demented if you’re thinking of doing that!”

Chompy Mage hopscotched along the bulbs, squelches as he tapped, waving his staff which emitted sparkling puffs of smog. Chompies materialized dropping to the arena floor and ran from him, jumping as far as their stubby legs could go. Spyro switched on-guard watching the creatures reach by inches only to chatter and flail reaching for air when they failed. His form slackened while staring deadpan, cocking an eye.

“Okay, this is just sad…”

Spyro pulled in a breath, his chest rising flooding his lungs and throat with heat. The air returned as a stream of flame scorching the path it carved in the dirt floor black. Controlling and squeezing out breath for every wisp of heat, his fire swept the stadium driving the Chompies from the stands. The Chompies leapt away shrieking, though many still caught fire and ran in circles screaming.

“Charlie! Chase! Chenille!” The Chompy Mage looked to the Chompies rubbing their hides, turning on each other and nibbling their limbs. He looked back to Spyro fuming. “Don’t bully my Chompies!”

“Chenille is sensitive about her looks!” The puppet cried.

The staff waved in the air again sending a ring of smoke across the scene. Vein-like vines grew from the craters left as remnants of the Chompies’ destructive feast. Massive buds swelled from random points across, crackling and spilling green slime with a disgusting smell of moldy fruit. As Spyro’s stomach churned from the disaster of nature, the plants blossomed like the flip of a hatch, launching newly birthed Chompy bullets.

Spyro swung his tail and swatted away the Chompies from every direction, each of them falling like flies. He snagged one and bounced by his tail spike. “That all you got?”

“All I’ve got? Hmph! I’ve only been slightly raising the difficulty, it looks to be!”

Chompy Mage went giddy dancing with the tip of his staff lost in plumes of smoke. The stadium had become a wilderness as the vines overtook every inch of free stone. Buds swelled, grew, and withered without control firing Chompies at the dragon-marked-target. Spyro found himself more exerted than planned, sweating with his breaths drawing longer. He heaved round housing a trio of vermin. “What gives? You bringing out the extended family?”

“Oh yeah! We even included the cousins!” Chompy Mage smirked. “You might’ve noticed the new additions, though!”

“Folks say Chompies are dumb, but we’re good at multiplying!” The puppet cackled.

Spyro drew high and saw the entire ground had become a mass of shifting green maws, their chatters insanity-inducing. Spyro swallowed short gulps of air mid-pant in between sucking breaths. The odds were less in his favor, but he could still win. The dragon shot a fireball into a section of the crowd, a splash of burning Chompies in the wake of the explosion.

He followed suit with three more shots, each one growing weaker while the Chompy cluster stamped out his embers. Wings dragging like lead, Spyro plummeted to the ground, his head bowed and claws withering on the dirt. A large patch of Chompies rushed him the second he touched earth. Tumbling as they piled atop him, he cried out as they bit into his hide, their teeth painful as daggers leaving cracks in and tears between the scales.

“SPYRO!” Wincing he caught Elf and Eruptor blocked at the entrance by a wall of Chompies ready to make the two cadets into a fresh meal. He turned to glare at the Chompy Mage standing triumphant atop his mountain of blooms.

“So much for Mr. Hotshot!” He laughed. “Now you’re gonna find out what I do to any non-Chompy!”

“Enough!”

The dragon raised his head despite the enraged Chompy hopping on it. On the wall was a silhouette outlined by sunlight, the flutter of robes in time. Master Eon with his wizened features came into view, an arm raised and fist clenched. Spyro’s head went heavy swearing the hard stare from the old wizard was aimed at him along the way to Chompy Mage.

“Skylanders, UNITE!”

With the old wizard’s command, several more figures leapt atop the rim of the arena. They jumped with weapons raised: swords to axes to fists, bows, wands, and firearms. The shock wave from their joint crash shook the island, the Chompies limp as they swirled in the gust. Spyro’s eyes stung from the waves of dirt caught in his eyes, coughing as the dust settled. In his stupor were the firm press of a foot and the cock and hum of some gun.

“When this is over, I hope you’re prepared to serve detention for the rest of your life.” Jet-Vac’s voice called. The dragon caught the undertones of that sharp glare too common.

“Always with the sweet talk, huh?”

He turned to the others lined around them, the Academy teachers. Pop Fizz, Hoot Loop, Wash Buckler, Blast Zone, and plenty of others. Daily, that line of heroes would be found in front of a blackboard going over basic element knowledge, some more meticulous than others in one bird-man’s case. Still, these Skylanders were still as named, holding or transferring classes to serve on active duty and defeating villains popping up around the Skylands. That double-life cool factor was likely the only reason Spyro wasn’t napping through every one of their lessons.

“Right then, Skylanders!” Jet Vac pointed his gun at Chompy Mage. “Battle Formation Alpha, variation E-29!”

The others all looked at each other muttering.

“Come on, Jet-Vac!” The blue-furred gremlin, Pop Fizz, cried. “You know we don’t keep up with your fancy battle talk!”

“Fine, excuse me for wanting to put a spot of organization into it. Charge!”

What happened next was, Spyro could best describe, a hot mess. Colorful explosions, gusts and flashes of light and fists, and a chorus of battle cries came from the teachers in a stampede that mowed the Chompies and overgrowth. The green creatures were splattered on the walls, bouncing off the stage’s rim, or sent flying over the edge of the arena. Chompy Mage watched the arc of one unfortunate Chompy that was on the receiving end of a beaker-induced burst.

“Oh, now I really don’t like you!” He hopped from his mound. “Let’s see if you can blast, blast, blast and fight, fight, fight  your way out of this!”

The mage waved his staff and summoned a mountain’s worth of eggs in a ring of sparkles. The Skylanders leapt away from the cascade and fumes of smoke and shell as new Chompies came into being and pounced, rows of teeth spiraling. Jet-Vac raised his gun and fired out a volley of swirling wind bullets. The Chompies caught in the rounds swirled mid-leap carried away in the breeze.

He aimed his gun back at Chompy Mage. “Cease and desist, villain!”

“Talk tough as much as you want, birdie!”

“All we hear is ‘squawk, squawk, squawk!’” the puppet added.

Chompy Mage’s staff glowed in a chaotic fusion of green and violet, aimed at the bird-man’s head. Just as he swung, a whip of facial hair caught his hand and slapped the rod out of his hand. The villain looked to his surprise assailant. Eon with arms raised with shielding hands, his beard elongated to his knees and curled like a beast bared.

“By my beard, Doom Raider, you shall not sully the ground of Skylander Academy a moment longer! You now face me!”

Eon sped in levitation towards the mage. The old wizard cried out waving his arms while his beard whipped into life did the work of striking his opponent without mercy or opening. Spyro watched the one-sided battle mouth agape rising to his feet, wincing with every solid club of bear hair to the face. Chompy Mage looked like the disturbed codger he’d called him with Eon beating him to greater senselessness.

Eon raised his arms and fired a sparkling blue orb at the mage. Chompy Mage went tumbling away rolling into his Chompies. It was over once Eon broke out his actual magic; the beard was likely for fun.

“Alert Cloudcracker Prison we’ll be returning one.” Eon raised his hand and an aura of blue appeared around the villain’s form. “Ensure the cadets are accounted for.”

The Skylanders saluted and headed out. Spyro took the chance to saunter to his mentor, head high.

“Record time for a beat down, Eon,” the dragon dusted himself. “Must have softened him up for--”

“What in the name of the Ancients possessed you to behave so recklessly?” The wizard turned to him, a familiar sternness and anger sprawled on his face. “I gave a direct order for the cadets to take shelter! You disobeyed and engaged the enemy placing yourself and your teammates in needless danger!”

Spyro paused, then scoffed. “I wouldn’t call a weirdo launching garden gnomes code red.”

The wizard glared. “A true Skylander would not underscore any foe; they would assess the risk and act in accordance. Did you consider what might have happened had the Skylanders and I not arrived in time?”

“Someone needed to shove a fireball up the guy’s jammies before he wrecked the place,” he defended. “Skylanders take down bad guys! That’s what I was taught.”

Eon sighed with his hands held behind. “What you were taught was to act upon instinct, not impulse… I am very disappointed in you, Spyro.”

“Wh-disappointed? But Master Eon--“

“I intend to have a serious discussion with you when I am done.”

Spyro shrunk bowing as Master Eon took leave, the word ‘disappointment’ like a shutdown. The sting of a slap on his head was hint Stealth Elf sand Eruptor were at his sides chastising him with head shakes and ‘I-told-you-so’ stares. But Spyro only focused on the trailing back of his mentor, and a step into a jog, he pursued. The torturous mix of bruises and fatigue and redundant grief of the other two were nothing if it meant nudging Eon into an offer for a second chance.

Jet-Vac put a dent in that plan, though, marching up just as Spyro caught the wizard’s robes. “Master Eon, we have a situation.”

Eon turned. “What?”

“Report from Hugo back at the Academy: a handful of students went missing shortly after Chompy Mage first attacked, with no trace of their whereabouts.” Jet-Vac pulled out a list. “Based on head count, the missing students include the rest of the Skyball team and… several members of my class.”

Eon furrowed his brows. “What have you—”

Eon startled back, interrogation choked in his throat. Chompy Mage rose almost possessed, his wrinkled flesh lost in thick fumes rancid in odor expelled out his robes. The smog rose clouding his form into a silhouette in the Skylanders’ sights. A distorted twinkle sickly green in shade flickered in his hands, flashing as a torrent of energy knocking the experienced Skylanders and Eon back. A dome of light formed, the inside obscured by smoke.

“Spyro, Stealth Elf, Eruptor!”

The trapped cadets braced for the worst as fumes decayed into a dull violet. An updraft of smog thick as tar blasted out, the villain’s shape barely visible. It hunched, growing plump with limbs flailing, the cackles of villain and puppet merged and distorted as a feral roar blew away the smog. Pools of slobber dripped and smog leaked from mammoth fangs on a rotund body five times its size. His gut rippled with veins, damp with hot breaths from his maw. Meaty, fungus-infested claws flexed as his waving stalk eyes honed in bloodshot on their group. His steps crashed as he walked, forming craters.

“Oh, magma!” Eruptor shouted.

“This is not good!” Elf added. “How’d he get so big? The files never mentioned this!”

“Sorry to make you wait. Clearly I wasn’t in the right form for the occasion,” the beast hissed in the fused voices of villain and puppet with a ravenous grin. “I’m gussied up and ready to chomp the lot of you!”

“Look who’s all bark and no bite now!” Spyro called. “I’m getting all fired up! Let’s do this!”

Spyro took off, the force shooting pain through his bones. He bobbed in midair, wings uneven, but levelled before Chompy Mage could take a swipe with his paw. He let loose a stream of fire that the Chompy Mage only flinched at before repelling with a burst from his massive gut.

“Wha—"

“Not too hot, now! You should have run when you had the chance, lit’l dragon!”

“‘Spyro the Great’ is in over his head, Elfy!”

“What else is new?” Stealth Elf said bending with blades in hand. “Remember our training! Keep your attacks focused and we might get out of this!”

The elven girl swerved with flashes left and right as the monster stomped. With a split-second dodge, she leapt up to his side and carved into his flesh with acrobatic swings of her blade. Eruptor followed suit, his stubs glowed with heat, launching blobs of lava into the side. Chompy Mage roared with pain and aimed for Stealth Elf with another stomp. The two circled around the mutated villain continuing their assault into any opening they could spot.

“Keep going, Eruptor!” Elf cheered. “I think we’re making headway!”

“How about ‘make way!’” Spyro landed in her path as she made to rush.

“Spyro! What are you doing?”

“I got this!”

Spyro took off again leaving Stealth Elf to take the blow from Chompy Mage’s paw. He encircled Chompy Mage and pelted him with a barrage of fireballs, murder on his throat. His last few rounds still made progress by setting fire to his back fur. The beast danced with tremoring steps reaching to snuff out the forest fire.

“It’s bad enough you aren’t Chompies! Now you’re trying to char-broil me!” He screamed. “Now I really, really, really don’t like you!”

Spyro looped around and launched a few fireballs lacking in aim and wobbly in path. A lucky couple struck his left eye-stalk, burning the flesh black. Chompy Mage howled and swung back, driving his fangs in the ground raking terrain. The dragon swam for altitude pulling his tail spike in time leaving Eruptor, charging with stubs searing, caught struggling between his first rows of jaws. Spyro reared back with a punch of effort to his chest, another fireball going into Chompy Mage’s mouth with the rocks shredded to gravel.

Choking, the villain spat out Eruptor, and Spyro was knocked away with the rock creature’s body to the ground. Eruptor leaned up growling. “Will you stop trying to showboat!? Kinda fighting for our lives here!”

Spyro shoved him away. “Cool it, E! This guy’s totally on the ropes right now!”

Their argument died with the drop shadow around them, Chompy Mage’s body high in the air the source. Spyro wasted no time guessing over his distance gain as he and Eruptor scrambled leaping out of his crash zone. Their balance lost with the fissure formed from his piledrive the cadets slipped, their backs hitting the solid wall of light.

“Little Skylanders think they can relax…” he chortled raising his good eye-stalk. “Think again!”

“Tough talk, nutjob!” Eruptor pointed. “It’s still three ta one!”

“You sure about that!? I got some new additions to the family, and they want to say hello!”

Chompy Mage’s hill of blossoms cracked and shifted then bloomed, smothering the area in a fog of a spicy stench assaulting their nostrils. Blinking back the tears, the three held back gags watching the buds spit out boulder-like shapes that rolled off the groove of the petals, With typical Chompy fashion they chattered as they uncurled, stomping forward. Their bodies were of every color, an assortment of additions on their bodies from fins to stone and metal spikes.

“Aren’t they the lookers?” Chompy Mage kneeled by them, his musky breath driving them back. “I like them, I like them very much right now. They’re special, you know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Elf asked. “What are these Chompies? I’ve never seen their breed, and you see one, you’ve seen them all!”

“Try checking the yearbook, girlie? Might not recognize ‘em, but I say your classmates’ve never looked better!”

The three gasped.

“Our classmates?” Elf paled asking.

“You turned ‘em into Chompies?” Eruptor shouted. “That’s gonna be hard to explain ta their folks.”

“Caught ‘em just as they were escaping. Had some ugly looks on their faces for a bunch of measly cadets running with their tails between their legs.” Chompy Mage cackled. “Thought I’d give ‘em a friendly makeover with my Chompy Pods!”

“That violates so many laws of Skylands and nature!” Spyro gave a wince saying.

Elf’s green skin deepened looking at the now wilted buds. “I thought I recognized those flowers. You stuck them in there and turned them into Chompies to spring them on Eon and the teachers. You knew they wouldn’t fight back!”

“Took a little time, but I have to say these ones turned out good!”

“Big deal!” Spyro shot forward bearing his horns against the teammates. “So you tried to pull the whole hostage bit! It’s not gonna stop me from serving up Chompy souffle!”

“Tough talk! Let’s see if you’re still got any guts after they’re done with you!” Chompy Mage pointed. “Chompies, charge!”

Without a glance at Elf or Eruptor as they fended off the rushing Chompies, Spyro pushed his wings for another takeoff. He readied for a fireball launch, but a tackle hard to his side knocked the wind and embers out of him. The mutated students gathered as he crashed stepping on his spine, crushing his bones and robbing him of breath. A brown one with rock spines came forward, Terrafin’s scowl etched across the creature’s face and in its hulking arms. He still hit as hard with that first blow, the dragon feeling a crack in his skull.

“That’s right, that’s what your puffy chest gets you, little dragon!” Chompy Mage laughed as he spawned bruises from Terrafin’s flailing. “Us Chompies don’t care for any of you Skylanders treating us bad! They’re going to make tasty, tasty, tasty meat out of you and yours!”

“Take your threats… and shove them up your chomp hole…”

“Plucky one,” the villain growled. “I think I still won’t like you even when I make you a Chompy!”

The group of students kept up their beatings, fists heavy as boulders on the dragon’s body while others went to shred and rip out his limbs. His vision growing dim along with that special flame in his gut, grip on the ground growing ever weaker, his mind wandered to his legacy of anger-inducing comments. Skylanders being solo acts, he said at the Skyball game: situations like this made those words ring true.

But his legs rose, even supported by no one, under the weight of the Chompies. His glare with an unyielding light went past the wide frame of Terrafin aimed at Chompy Mage. The dragon bared his teeth in a mile-wide smirk like swords that still pointed at a foe waiting to be cut down to nothing. “I’m… I’m a Skylander!” Spyro grimaced. “I’m not about… to be beaten here!”

“I changed my mind…” Chompy Mage growled. “I don’t like you so much, I’m not going to bother making you a Chompy! I’d rather just destroy the lot of you!”

The hair on his back reignited and spread, his obese form consumed in a blaze with ashes rising, yet he did not cry out and even relished it. The monster’s smooth flesh jiggled then froze, hardened into obsidian black, glowing cracks forming along the surface. His claws and teeth went bright like candle fire while his eyes lit with the same heated glow. The bonfire on his back rose a mile high into a shell coating him with a sinister blaze. The same heat triggered movement as he roared to the skies again.

“I believe I’m in the right form to heat things up the way you little cadets like!” The villain cackled with glee. “Chompies are gonna eat well tonight! Roast Skylanders!”

The villain jumped with leg strength Spyro didn’t know was there. He plunged with a fissure-creating crash letting loose a maelstrom of flame. The three cadets braced for the incinerating wave to hit, shutting their eyes.

But no heat, no pain past the intense light their eyelids blocked. Just a hum and the whoosh of flames triggering sweat. Spyro peeked an eye and gasped. 

“Y-You!?”

* * *

Cody was crazy, of that there was no doubt to anyone anymore. He had watched every second of the battle from shadows grasping stone with fingers going numb. He had taken the Portal from his pocket and prepared to turn the other way, closing the pit in his stomach. He wasn’t needed, not with so many other heroes to take his place. But when things took a turn for the worse, his feet moved on their own.

Now here he was, with a magical barrier, blocking a storm of fire brought by a monster on a rampage. The burn reached his hands, bites of heat like the touch of searing metal causing his fingers to twitch. Chompy Mage’s flames subsided, and breathless, he collapsed. “I can’t believe,” he gasped, “I just did that…”

“That makes four of us,” Stealth Elf responded.

“Look out!”

Chompy Mage and his mindless pack bounced towards him. He raised his barrier quick enough to surround his form. The Chompies thwacked and pounded on the barrier, clanging with thunderous noise. Cody’s spine went stiff while his hands clutched his head holding his shield. A flush quick as an icicle to his heart came as he dared to crack his eyes.

Ripples in his barrier might have distorted his sight or maybe it was sweat blurring his vision. But the Chompies’s forms warped to human proportions, their claws morphing to fingered hands. His heartbeat doubled in speed with sharp blows of wind like slashes on his face, fragments of words, and gleaming glares. His rapid blinking switched between visions of the shadowy figures and the Chompies drooling over his shield. He couldn’t tell which reality was worse.

The brown Chompy raised a paw to hammer away the barrier, but a footprint on his face stopped him. Stealth Elf pressed on his face and flipped away, slashing and bouncing off the others in successive suit. The elven girl landed and grabbed him, vanishing in a puff. The Chompies growled at what was left behind: a straw-filled dummy in her likeness.

They appeared feet away while the Chompies mauled the scarecrow Elf. “You doing okay? That was a crazy move.”

Cody nodded.

A burning slosh came from behind. Eruptor was spewing lava in layers and waving. “Hurry it up! They’re gonna want something new to chew in a couple of seconds!”

Cody stumbled as Stealth Elf dragged him behind the makeshift wall. He sunk to his knees rubbing his sleeves as if to tear off the skin underneath. He was sure: he’d gone past insane some time ago.

Spyro leapt to the wall as soon as it reached over their heads. In defense of their makeshift fortress, he launched fireballs at the Chompies and their ringleader. It scored a knockdown from a few of them but they rose again hopping mad. The dragon returned fire still, keeping them down and in a lucky case, set a couple on fire.

Eruptor grabbed him by the tail glaring. “The heck are you doin? Those are our classmates you’re shooting!”

“Yeah, well, something tells me they’re not in the mood for after school clubs!”

“You shooting fireballs at them ain’t gonna help us either! We got to figure something else out!”

“Right, and while you do that, they’re coming over with their new homework assignment: tearing us to shreds!”

“Your party tricks won’t be able to keep you out of my Chompies’ bellies for long, Skylanders!” Chompy Mage roared. “Look hard what they do to your dummy, because you dummies will be next!”

Cody gulped grabbing every fold of cloth on him, his head scrambling. Chompy Mage’s threat lingered with the heat of his form and the still warm rock his back pressed upon. He needed reminding he wasn’t prepared even for the standard variety of emergencies, much less monster attacks, when he’d locked himself in his room for years. Scrambling in his head for ideas as the Chompies roared in unison, nothing came to Cody’s mind as thoughts faded lost in static. Nothing left but to wait for death by devouring.

But in shrinking back from the arguing cadets something caught his eye. Past the smog clouds remaining at the barrier’s edge was a ball, dented from use. It rolled with the tremors of the Chompy army drawing close.

His gaze lingered as Spyro’s voice spiked into notice. “They’re too dumb to tell the difference!”

“W-Wait!” He stuttered. “That’s it!”

The three cadets turned to Cody, his voice faltering at their attention. “T-Those monsters aren’t too smart, right? Maybe we can play on that,” he pointed to the ball in the corner. “With that. We can turn them against Chompy Mage. He wouldn’t attack other Chompies, would he?”

“You seriously think that’ll work?” The dragon asked him.

“It’s worth a try… maybe?” He blinked shuffling. The cadets held silence mulling it over, gritting their teeth as the Chompies pounded cracks through the wall. Cody turned away expectant. His plan was more of words out of a moving mouth, an unnecessary risk for anyone. “N-No. Never mind. Forget I said—"

“I think it’s got a shot,” Eruptor said grinning. “Ticking folks off is what Spyro here does best.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, E,” the dragon smirked. “Since you used the word ‘best.’”

Cody blinked again.

“Whatever. I say let’s go for it,” Elf chuckled, turning to Cody. “This is coming from our new Portal Master. I don’t think it’s any worse than what we’ve been doing so far.”

Chompy Mage stomped towards them, his steps bringing the rest of the wall crumbling. “Why keep this up any more? Let me make you Chompies and I won’t have to bully you anymore! Otherwise, I’ll just have to crush you into teeny-tiny splotches!”

The burning behemoth’s foot hovered over, but a blur whizzed past sending him toppling. Spyro had snagged the ball and rebounded on the dome for style. Winding up his claw he smacked it on the head of the brown Chompy who turned to face an empty spot. Cody gulped breathing twice as fast and summoned his barrier flickering into full size. The boy’s heels dug into the dirt, scuffling across gravel to regain traction against the oblivious rush of brute force. His grip slipped in a moment’s notice and he slammed into the wall, the musk of their breaths inches from him.

Chompy Mage grinned struggling to rise. “Ooh, little kid wants to be a hero? You’re gonna be—” He paused. “Wait, where are those other ones?”

Spyro was behind their numbers playing as a real athlete spinning the ball on his tail. He head-butted it on the Chompy with fins then tail-slapped it towards the steel-spiked one. Cody gained breathing room with the lapse in strength, watching Spyro fly with grace.

The dragon fixed on the ball bouncing it on his head. “Who’s got game? Spyro got game!”

Elf popped overhead and knocked him off balance. “Cut the one-dragon show and stick to the plan!” She bounced it on his head before popping away.

“Don’t be a hater!”

Stealth Elf reappeared on ground level, flipping and cartwheeling with the ball alternated between hands and feet. She slammed it on the steel-spike Chompy once again square on the back of its head. She flashed to the other side and struck a violet one right in its rear. Her target ranted off at the others hopping in place. “Eruptor, your turn!”

She swung the ball behind for the rock creature to catch in his stubs. “Coming in hot!”

Eruptor slammed the ball on an orange one, landing a double strike on its eye. Catching it quick given his slower speed, he leapt. His shot ricocheted between the faces of the blue finned one and another orange one with blue spots. The Chompies turned on each other forgetting Cody, punching and gnawing on each other’s hides. The boy lowered his barrier with iron weight on his hunkered limbs, his knees sagging. On the ground, his gaze wandered to Spyro and the others, radiant with the sun at their bruised backs, pushing their bodies to their limits. He blinked back his own fatigue.

Chompy Mage stomped to Eruptor as he passed. “Found one of you! What are you up to!?”

“Hey, Chompies!” Spyro called. “Heads up!”

The villain turned to Spyro who threw the ball like a cannon shot. Chompy Mage caught it in between his claws. “What’s this, then? You want to play catch? Save that for when you’re—”

A discord of growls laced with anger stopped him mid-taunt. Every mile of his green flesh paled seeing the group of Chompies with bruises littering their bodies from the ball glaring at him. The chill crept up Cody’s spine hearing them, wild animals aimed to rend prey to pieces, even though it was as he planned. He turned away as the growls became full on roars, and a scream of anguish came quickly after.

“No! No, no, no! Chompy, chompy, chompy!”

There was a twinge of pity, and familiarity, in Cody seeing the monstrous Chompy Mage torn apart by his own slaves. None of them looked as he writhed in agony, braced as smoke burst from his form, the explosion sending a shudder throughout the barrier. The group turned back seeing the mutated Chompies bouncing and stomping around the reverted Chompy Mage, the disturbed hermit he was at the beginning. His robes were in tatters and he was face flat on the dirt, groans muffled. His dome melted away for pure air and realization to fill their forms.

“Whoo-hoo!” Spyro flew in circles.

Stealth Elf and Eruptor joined in the cheers. Cody was only panting hard bracing his knees, exhaustion still there. Falling to his back he followed Spyro circle overhead.

“Not… yet…” The group stopped tense seeing Chompy Mage rising on his staff. His teeth had gone jagged and wrinkles on his face tripled as he went completely feral. He lunged at them in an arc of gas from overhead.

“Your time has come, villain!” A glow appeared from behind. “Away with you!”

A sudden blast of light from a star expanded into a transfixing vortex of green from Eon’s hands. Wind stirred around them as it floated to the center of the sky, absorbing stray stones into an abyss to infinity. A pulse and fade of consciousness in Cody staring mouth ajar while his clothes and hair only stirred with a small breeze. He felt no movement yet it was as though his spirit was being yanked out of him.

Chompy Mage gripped the ground resisting the pull of energy. “No! I ain’t going back, you hear me! This is cruelty to Chompies!”

The force from Eon’s magic sliced away his safe ground. Chompy Mage was swung spiraling over their heads into the vortex vanishing in the light. With one final flash and powerful hum, the cadets saw nothing, no trace of the villain.

“What… just happened?” Cody asked shuffling towards Eon.

Spyro and the other cadets joined. “That was some magic trick. Gotta remember that for my birthday, Eon!” Still in midair, the dragon landed. “Seriously, though. Where’s Chompy Mage?”

“He is here.”

Master Eon raised the small piece in his hands. It was a crystal, its face as dull as stone but still holding a shine, radiating with green light. It levitated in the old sage’s hand, still as a rock. Coldness washed over Cody staring at the gemstone, with the sense of a presence, no doubt Chompy Mage’s.

“It is a Traptanium Crystal, the same stone that had imprisoned the Doom Raiders for ages.” Eon held out the stone. “Now he is imprisoned once again in its hold, unable to bring harm to anyone.”

Growls came from the remaining Chompies clutching their heads growling. Smoke fumes with sparkles poured from their bodies which glowing beneath. In a burst, they reverted to their original forms, the other cadets, blinking in confusion. Cody held his heart sighing in relief with no third round on the horizon, no fight for it left in him. The Skylander teachers surrounded them with pats on the back and hands guiding them away.

“For real,” Terrafin muttered rubbing his head. “I haven’t gotten a head rush this bad since our last pop quiz. I can’t remember—”

Spyro flapped over to the shark. “Hey there, T-Man. You feel like your old grouchy self again?”

Terrafin glowered for a moment, then startled. “Oh, yeah. That freak in the green snagged us. Turned us into his green goons… guess I should thank you for changing us back to normal.”

“You want to? I’m thinking you were better-looking as a Chompy.”

The shark glared. “That right!? Fine! I’m not sayin’ nothing, fool!” 

Master Eon stepped forward clearing his throat. “All that aside, I am very proud. You performed admirably given the circumstances.”

Stealth Elf appeared by Cody’s side snaking an arm around him. She had a bright smile on her face, despite how she had struck the boy as a serious fighter. “Cody and Spyro deserve most of the credit. They showed real guts out there, and that plan of Cody’s was what really got us the win.”

“I must agree, Stealth Elf,” Eon smiled as he did when they’d spoken, and Cody had to turn away. “Young Cody, your bravery and ingenuity on the field of battle was admirable. I will ask again, would you consider joining our Skylander Academy as a Portal Master-in-training? The Skylands will doubtless be safer with someone of your spirit to protect them.”

“No. I-I already said. I can’t be—”

“Come on, dude. What’s holding you back?” He winced with a playful punch from Eruptor speaking. “You showed you got the chops, and you got a bunch of new buddies to get you through it!”

Stealth Elf turned to him next. “It’ll be some new territory for everyone involved, and yeah, it’ll be tough. But like Eruptor says, a few helping hands only works for you.” She knelt, holding his chin up to her. “What you need to do is keep your head up and see there’s a lot of those helping hands. We’ll get you to hero status, one step at a time.”

She wouldn’t make that offer if she knew. None of them would offer hands in kindness if they knew the truth. This snowball of events and expectations began by opening his door, something he regretted more with every moment the downcast silence grew. Chompy Mage’s prison in Eon’s hand wasn’t so different from his own in that room at home. It was quiet, nothing exciting happened, and it was lonely, but he was at peace there. His hands clenched at his torso in near begging, knots tangled in his stomach and throat trying to form the gentlest words to leave him be.

But as he croaked a breath, he locked eyes with Spyro behind the crowd. He made light of the moment shrugging and speaking. “Hey, whatever you want to do.”

Cody stood wobbling on his feet, treading with eyes on every stray pebble towards the old sage. There was tension coming from everyone, strangely. He took a shaky breath and pulled the Portal from his pocket.

“I’ll stay.”

The Skylanders cheered raising arms and dancing in celebration. Eon himself had the widest smile on his face and even Spyro chuckled. Cody stuttered. “B-But… for a little while,” he rushed his speech. “I mean, a trial run? I can stop and leave at any time, if I don’t think it’s working.”

There was a pause with mutters, but ones of approval. Eon held his smile well in understanding. “Fair enough. We are on the verge of changing times, and so must learn to adapt to new circumstances. Though now that you will be joining us, I would like to offer you a proposal. As a Portal Master you will join with a Skylander cadet as your partner. You will support one another, in battle and in life, and become stronger together.”

“Okay.” Cody gulped.

“I have selected a candidate, one I believe will be beneficial to you. From this day forth your partner shall be… Cadet Spyro!”

“What? Hold on, what I meant was,” Spyro shook his head. “WHAT!?”

“Is there a problem?”

Spyro flew up, looking between his headmaster and Cody, shrinking back. “There’s, uh, there’s not really a problem per se. The thing is, I don’t know if you really want to saddle us together.”

“Yeah, Master Eon. In case you didn’t notice back in that mess, Spyro’s not exactly a team player.” Eruptor pointed.

“Is that so? I believe it works out splendid,” Eon stroked his beard. “Your born heroism and unyielding courage coupled with Cody’s caring nature and creative instinct. You make for an excellent team, or do you not believe so, Spyro?”

“No, I mean, teamwork makes the dream work. But that’s for other Skylanders. Me, I’m more of a solo act and everything- lone wolf, party of one, all that. So best you try and find someone else to—”

Terrafin crossed his arms steeping up. “Heh, figures Hotshot over here can’t handle sharing the spotlight. I thought you could handle anything.” 

“Spyro,” Eon spoke, “I believe it will be the best for you both.”

Spyro surrendered landing with a groan rumbling in his snout. He didn’t turn to Cody, but the boy could see every facet of disappointment on his face while his wings folded and head sunken. Cody had no words to give. Though next to him, shoved in his direction, no one could see they were worlds apart.

The Skylanders joined them while Eon exhaled. “It looks as though we are in for interesting times…”

In the old sage’s hand, the Traptanium Crystal glowed once again. A trail of green smog flowed seeping through the cracks in the stone. Beyond the walls and notice of every Skylander and Portal Master it breezed away into the horizon. It flowed around the underbelly of a cloud, lost in the deepening shadow as it turned grey. The tides were shifting, in what way was anyone’s guess.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we have come to the end of the First Act. Events have been set in motion, Cody has become a student at Skylander Academy, Spyro has been made his partner, and these two have no idea what is coming. But both should know that there is no turning back.
> 
> Thanks to everyone for their patience in the coming of this chapter. It turned out much longer than I expected it to be due to really pushing out the fight scene. That is something I will need to watch in the future. I think I need to put a cap on all my chapters in terms of word count, especially so I can advance the plot and put chapters out there faster. Of course, this chapter in its rough draft was around 8,500 words so I’m amazed I managed to trim it down by a thousand. Hooray for super editing power.
> 
> Anyway, as I promised we are now at chapter 10, so it is time for my big announcement. Drum roll!
> 
> …
> 
> This story… will be expanded into a trilogy!
> 
> At least I have considered it strongly, but now I think I might go ahead and do that. The way I was thinking when I was first setting up for this story, it seemed like it was best told as a series with a dramatic overarching plotline. The comments here and on Fanfiction.net really gave me the confidence to go ahead with this, so thank you.


	11. Adjustments

Kaos’s tower was screaming out by the second with the shatters of objects. If his mother’s castle could cringe it would as holes broke through the stone letting out the stench of its former outhouse status. Though compared to the inside, that was an understatement.

Kaos’s malicious idols under one roof was a nightmare come true, in every sense of the phrase. Though he moved through a gala of evil celebrities, his collectibles flew from the shelf to Gulper’s belly and belched out with coatings of slime. Wolfgang’s bone harp smacking them into walls and columns and Krankcase’s tinkering with his goo-powered machines doubled the quota of damaged and slimed décor. Pepper Jack cleared out the rest of the space for a cauldron for cooking, a hot glow from the pot. It was a mild improvement if it only mixed the sewer smell with a burning stench of a post explosive and cleared out the spiders and cobwebs.

Kaos huddled up to the Golden Queen reclining in his throne, the one spot that remained pristine and pampered. He had an assortment of cakes and treats on a silver tray he offered with a huddled head. She turned the tray and its contents to gold before shooing him away without a glance.

“The treats looked delicious sir. Though not as delicious as the irony.” Glumshanks spoke from the corner.

“Oy, servant boy!” Wolfgang’s voice shrieked. “I need a new target! Bring that oversized skull of yours over here!”

“An’ while you’re at it, bring me some more cayenne and onions, or I’ll make you cry,” came Pepper Jack.

“Dear precocious boy, do attempt to be useful and bring me another barrel of goo for my work. Do not dawdle.” Krankcase’s demand didn’t sound the part, but there was the condescending tone.

“Coming! Coming, everyone!”

The evil Portal Master moved through the door with magic-enhanced speed. He lugged the wagon with their requested items by the teeth like a pack mule at the crack of a whip. But true to form for Kaos, everything ended in some varied kind of disaster.

Pepper Jack’s spices were added to Krankcase’s machine, overheating the mechanism and causing it to explode. A glass ball for Wolfgang was the new ingredient for Pepper Jack’s chili only to crack a hole in the cauldron leaking the food out. Krankcase’s gears found a new place embedded in the columns, launched hard enough by Wolfgang to break one into rubble. The common thread was that each attempt earned him a glare and a lump from an angry Doom Raider. 

Kaos backed from the closing group. “Eh, right. Anyway, on to the general business of neer-do-welling.”

“What you going on ‘bout, boy?”

The Dark Portal Master raced to the steps just before the Golden Queen, his arms wide. He grinned at her form for the longest time before turning to all the others. “As you know, my releasing you from Cloudcracker Prison was not merely an act of generosity. You are among the Skylands’ most dangerous villains, the most underhanded, right down to the most hideous! Combine your powers with me so we may spread glorious catastrophe and bring the Skylands to its knees! We will be unstoppable!”

Wolfgang scoffed. “Though peewee here was strikin’ too high and mighty a tone. He just wants a chance to jam with the real rock stars!”

“Gulper think that funny! Dumb but funny!”

Things were taking a negative turn again, Kaos thought glancing toward the blob. “I’d like to detail a few plans I devised that take into account your individual skills, weaknesses in the Skylanders’ defenses, and basically whatever leads to a hazardous explosion.”

“Kaos devising strategy…” Glumshanks muttered. “What kind of alternate world have I entered?”

“We start with the overtaking the Academy. From there, we return to Cloudcracker and release the inmates, building an army of immeasurable evil. With our forces, we can take control of the Skylands, and plunge them into total and utter and complete darkness!” The evil child cackled.

Yet his cackling was cut off by a chorus of more coming from the group of villains now surrounding him. His face flushed as their laughter went into scoffs as though even the air they breathed was too good for his lungs. Wolfgang marched up and grabbed him by his robe’s scruff, the rows of jaws in his snarl reflecting his sorry state.

“Listen here, meat. You busted us out of the kennel, but we already told you that doesn’t mean you get to start barking orders!”

“B-b-but-“

“I’m afraid my compatriot here has a point,” came the spider-legged doctor with an old-fashioned calculator in hand with a large crank. “Your success in releasing us from Cloudcracker could be attributed best to mere luck, by my calculations. There was a 99.9999% chance you would have ended up imprisoned with us. In fact, my investigation shows that you did, in fact.”

“In the first five seconds!” Wolfgang added.

“And that is a considerable improvement compared to your repeated assaults on Skylander Academy. Taking into account news reports and word of mouth, I’d estimate your current record at approximately 538. Give or take an extra 20.”

“Oh-wee! That stinks more than my gorgonzola and rhubarb curry!”

“Book! Book!” Gulper cried.

“Ah, yes.” Krankcase adjusted his goggles. “There was also the matter of that spell book in your possession. Quite assuredly the main factor in your .0001 chance of success.”

It wasn’t as though their odds of escaping on their own weren’t just as dismal. Kaos’s head sank into the shadows of his robe. He pushed back out grasping for their good graces once more. “Okay, I required some slight assistance from my mother’s spell book. That doesn’t change the fact that you’d still be collecting dust in that cage if it weren’t for my efforts!”

“What was that?” Wolfgang snarled. “Maybe you’d like to collect some bruises!”

“Enough!”

The clank of the Golden Queen’s staff chimed in the atmosphere, hushing their voices. Its tip washed away the stone with a wave of glimmering gold. She marched downward with feet gliding over the surface, not even deigning to touch the earth she graced. Her ruby eyes glared at her cohorts silencing them like mongrels.

“You anger your queen with this display,” she scolded. “Perhaps life as my statues will curb those forked tongues of yours.”

“But queenie-“ Wolfgang started.

She pointed her staff at his fur. “Especially yours, Wolfgang. Save those spiteful words for your song lyrics.”

She paced around the room, passing each of the Doom Raiders. Her staff brushed upon each of their heads with the gentle threat of gold. “This is no way to treat a valuable asset in our never-ending quest to bring a golden era of mayhem to the Skylands. The spell book was a necessary tool for Kaos to release us from our prison. To deny such incredible power is to deny the true treasure it… he is.”

“Oh, your Golden-ness, do you mean that?” Kaos trailed her as she walked.

The evil child was now at the end of her staff himself. “That being said, I must caution you Kaos. We are by no means ungrateful for your assistance, but a queen such as myself bows to no one. You will share with us the secrets of your book and we will have free reign of your lair – those are the terms of the Doom Raiders. Understood?" 

“Of course, my Queen. As you wish, my Queen. Whatever pleases you, your Golden Gildedness.”

The gleam of the Queen’s ruby eyes swirled on him, or at least as far as Kaos could tell. He had already elevated himself enough in a crackling display of dark magic to meet her standards as she tamed the roars of the other Raiders and kept her minions in line. This grand alliance of villains and merging of ambitions could still work, though he shouldn’t have had to jump through so many hurdles. Wolfgang and the others still eyed him as a piece of refuse after having acted as a jester in a court of royals. As his form melted into the shade, his skin went a shade of puce with his fists clenched.

Glumshanks kept his thoughts to himself, as punishments taught him to do. He was at his stool writing with a quill in hand. “And thus came the sunset of Kaos’s discontent. The troll in the corner could only gaze on with concern, and the slightest tinge of amusement.”

He swat the book from Glumshanks’ arm. “Enough of your stupid memoirs. Focus on my problems.”

“I do whether or not I have a choice, sir.”

“First that decrepit lunatic with the puppet, now this! The other Doom Raiders not only fail to acknowledge me as a threat, they have the nerve to make me look bad in front of the Golden Queen and make some evil clubhouse out of my lair!”

“The audacity of it all, stealing your evil clubhouse…” Glumshanks looked to the Doom Raiders continuing their mischief. “Although to be fair the place does look somewhat better and we don’t have to pay rent to your mother.”

“Forget the rent!” Kaos smacked him behind the head. “Look at them, Glummy, swimming in evil success and bragging over it, all because they have criminal records and reputations and powers. They clearly don’t see that I’m just as evil and threatening as the rest of them, especially the blob! I mean, I can at least together sentence a string!”

“Ah… no. Too easy.”

_Oooohhhh…._

Kaos startled. The wind had shifted, and a chill filled the room. The candles on each of the column wavered, sending the rotunda flickering in darkness. But what got the evil child wary was the tinge of a growl carried in the breeze. He didn’t leave the door open when he brought the Doom Raiders trailing their grime in. Right?

_Kaaaoooosss…_

“Glummy, did you say something? Tell me you’re not stealing my long name drawling thing, or else I’ll electrocute your vocal cords!”

“Normally you don’t make much sense, sir. You’re truly outdoing yourself today.”

“I mean it!” He grabbed the troll by the ears. “Someone called my name in an ominous tone of voice, and not the enjoyable kind.”

“They say hearing voices is the first symptom of dementia. From personal experience, I’ll say it’s not that bad.”

A green dot emerged with a glow from the stone. The two heard the hiss of breath as a ghostly green wisp float out, expelling fumes as it hovered in midair. Kaos watched mesmerized as it stayed in place, almost possessed, then drifted into the shadows. Both Dark Portal Master and troll followed its pull towards the stool where his mother’s spell book lay. It burned into nothingness as it melded into the book with its remnants swirling around the cover.

They creeped at a near standstill pace, watching for any sudden change as though the tome gained its own will. It slammed open in assertion. The pages skimmed guided by an unseen force, passing through near the entire text. It stopped on a page devoid of anything but stains on the parchment.

Kaos moved closer, his gaze boring deep into the fibers. His fingers trembling, he saw nothing as he came a step away. He froze with a powerful image drilling into his mind.

Angry, blood-red eyes amidst total black.

_Kaaaoooossss…._

The Dark Portal Master jumped away landing on his rear and scrambled to the nearest column, scraping the floor. “Alright, Dumb Raiders! If this is your idea of a prank, I am not amused! Seriously! Or wait… you’re not behind this, are you Glumshanks? Your potential future of an endless fall off the island depends on your answer!”

“Believe it or not, sir, I think you’ve been humiliated enough for one day.” Glumshanks wore a look of fear on his face and his voice trembled.

A small succession of pages turned to a new spot. Lines appeared at the corners of the page, drawing symbols and pictures in the bound parchment. Kaos recognized them as any resident of the Skylands should: a flame, a swirl, a drop, a leaf, and more: the symbols of the elements that comprised everything in their aerial world.

The page turned again, another drawing taking place of a mechanized fountain spurting showers of stardust that shot up to the heavens. Small guardian statues sprayed water towards its body as mist like morning dew sparkled on the paper. It was a perfect fusion of nature and technology, mystique and order, moving along the page in a never-ending function of protection. The Core of Light.

“Okay, is there any point to this silly picture show?” Kaos hauled himself to look at the page.

The page flipped again, once more drawing the symbol of the leaf. It flashed with light to draw attention.

“Huh,” huffed Glumshanks. “If memory serves, that’s the symbol of the Life Element, one of the ten Elements of the Skylands. Chompy Mage was associated with the Life Element, possibly due to his apparent multiple personality disorder.”

A light bulb in Kaos’s head went off. “That’s it, Glummy! I have the perfect plan to prove myself to the Doom Raiders! It will require a few sacrifices, but one never reaches their destination counting the bugs on the road.”

He slammed the book and carried it off towards the doors in the crook of his arm, careful to avoid the Doom Raiders’ watch. Glumshank followed him with much less enthusiasm. “If I may, sir. I don’t believe your mother will be pleased with whatever you plan to do with her book.” 

“What mother doesn’t know won’t hurt her, my dear troll.” Kaos sauntered out the double doors, just peeking his head back to glare at his servant. “Although it might hurt you.”

* * *

Cody’s feet shuffled along the cobblestone path to the Academy’s gate, dragging himself as fast as he could. He rubbed his face trying to drag the months’ worth of fatigue out of his features. These ‘Skylanders’ had more energy than they knew what to do with, even for creatures of their standard.

The last few hours at campus plaza were the scene of the craziest party he had ever been a part of, though there was little competition in that regard. Cody was at the front table making the most of the night watching his lap. Music thumped and shook the ground, jiggling the spilled buffet of cake and tomatoes everywhere. Colored lights and confetti stung his eyes and added to the feeling of nausea. At random points throughout he’d jump at explosions that sent cadets flying mid-dance battle, flying like firecrackers at every random moment and slamming onto their table.

It was a fun kind of mayhem, the kind you’d watch from a distance. The only ones who could say that were the stars themselves, as far from the level of excitement in the others as possible.

Spyro, his new partner in heroism, had been keeping silent since they were put in their seats of honor by Master Eon. There was a canyon gorge of distance between them, the other a speck in the distance. The boy would steal an odd glance though the dragon wouldn’t return it, only tap his claws looking as bored as imaginable. Still, he couldn’t hold back the fidget when he felt an eye on him. Was Spyro looking?

As the party went on, Cody could only wonder if things would work as Eon said.

What was he thinking? A hero’s life wasn’t for him. This was only going to be for a very short while.

Cody winced with the waft of the cool breeze and rays of morning hitting the roofs of the school. That party had taken more time than he thought. He reached for the stone in his pocket and concentrated when.

“Wait!”

It was Hugo, Eon’s Mabu assistant. Cody balked with the wagon full of books he pulled behind. He panted hard fixing his glasses as Cody stared.

“You almost forgot a few things. Here’s the lists for your assigned classes, the syllabuses, the guidebook, a list of contacts in case of emergency a map of both the campus and town, and all the required textbooks. Oh, and your first homework assignments.” Hugo tossed book after book and paper after paper at the boy. Cody was quickly failing to keep balance with the tower of supplies now in his hands.

“Um… thanks?”

“Now any further items or supplies you need can be purchased at the Student Store. You’ll have access to them by showing them your student ID.”

“There’s… more?” Cody looked past the wobbling stack of books at the Mabu.

“Best to take this time to study and work through your first assignments. Master Eon says classes will be postponed for a week after Chompy Mage’s attack on the Academy. Let’s hope a good grade is your follow-up to beating him.”

Hugo ran off before Cody could give another half-hearted thanks. Though his attention was still set on the stack of school supplies he was quickly running out of strength to lift. It became more unsteady as he reached for the Portal in his pocket again. Gravity had just about won when he snatched out and warped in a flash.

* * *

Just as Cody’s settings shifted, the struggle was over. The stack of books fell, and he fell with them. The topmost book found a spot on his head while the carpet was lost under the avalanche of text. 

Wait, carpet?

He lifted the book from his sight. Instead of stone and grass, there was the plain carpet floor. Instead of the regal castle towers that made up the school for mystical heroes, there was a wood desk and window.

Earth, his planet. His house. His room. He was back, as though he had never left.

He blinked away any doubt or signs of illusion after his breathing had finally calmed. There was that sweet silence so familiar to him, and his eyes adjusted to the dark with the windows still shut. From the white walls to the smoothed bed and photos along the shelves. He moved to his door, his hand trembling as he reached for the knob, but pulled it open.

The boy went to his bed and settled his heart. This was really home.

His feet pulled him downstairs to the kitchen, where the first rays of dawn came through the blinds. The bird he found was fast asleep, a full stomach had helped to calm its nerves as its food bowl was half finished. Cody figured the same and moved to the pantry to find a bowl and a box of cereal. He noted the lack of obstacles for his foot or the sound of glass rotating on tile for a second before stopping. He turned to the kitchen floor, noting its unusual cleanliness.

No beer bottles, or puddles of beer to mop. Ms. Phillips mentioned his father would be working late. Once again, he might not have come home at all. 

Cody tended to the bird with new bandages, fingers drifting so as not to wake the sleeping thing. After refilling its bowls, he left it to sleep in peace. He stared down at the living room as he moved back up the stairs, the wood railing under his hand just as smooth as the house was empty. The bumps of the walls, the small creak of the step near the top. Everything truly was the same as before, as always. 

He returned to his bed and half-laid on the edge, hands balling in his lap.

Was it all a dream? The Skylanders, the Skylands themselves? Portals, the Academy, Kaos? That magic of his?

His breath hitched as he looked to the floor seeing the pile of books untouched. That mess was enough to tell it was real, but the headache from the party and the lingering fatigue from the battle with Chompy Mage added to the fact. He reached into his pocket again, and his fingers touched pulsing stone. There, buried in worn cloth, was the greatest proof.

It wasn’t a dream, no matter how he wished it was. 

Cody turned to fully lay and clutched his pillow, eyes lidded to let sleep overtake him. “Why couldn’t it just be a dream? What am I going to do about all this?”

“Well, you could start with a proper tour.” A familiar, cocky voice sounded out. “I don’t want to look like a tourist here.”

Cody’s eyes snapped open and his body followed suit to the owner. Red eyes wandered around his room and settled on him. Fanged lips curved into a smile with a twinkle in his teeth. He certainly couldn’t be dreaming now.

Right before him, by the door, in his room… was Spyro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’M BAAAACK!
> 
> And just in time too, a couple of weeks after the premiere of Skylanders Academy’s third season. A great watch – I recommend it to anyone who still hasn’t seen it.
> 
> Thanks to everyone for your patience, and for the continued views of this story. I’m glad to see we’re starting to get a steady stream of readers. 
> 
> You’ll all be happy to know that the updates will come frequently – that’s right, you heard me. This story will continue receiving new chapters to the point of its completion. I want to keep the motivation strong and the train rolling. I’ve seen what happens when stories are left alone for too long.
> 
> Hope you'll keep reading.


	12. Different But The Same

_Things seemed like they always did after that first time, but soon, there we were again in another world. Just the two of us, alone._

_It was moments like that we didn’t think much of at first, other than freak accidents. Now I think we took those moments for granted._

_._

Cody rubbed his eyes until his eyelids went raw. The scram in his throat was restrained to a peep – that was an experience best only lived once. But no matter how many times he rechecked his own senses, there was no doubt.

Spyro was there, in his room. In the full scale.

The dragon was up on his wings, eyes wide and letting out a long breath. He darted around to every corner like a fly taking in the moist sights with a thirst for something new. “Whoooaaaa… so this is where fleshy humans like yourself call home sweet home. A little on the plain side, but-“

He gasped and looked to his phone and the lamp at the bedside. “What is this magnificent little gem?” His claws’ tips tapped the side button and screen and the phone sprung to life. The dragon blinked before beaming. “Ha! This is totally awesome! Look at all these little symbols! Is this thing magic or something!?” He pulled the string on the lamp and watched as it flicked between on and off. “And you got an instant light thingy too!? Light, dark, light, dark!”

“Uh…”

“This already trumps anything over at the Academy and-!” He gasped. “What. Is. That!?”

Cody followed as he gaped at a black box atop a small shelf. The device was coated in a thick layer of dust that triggered a sneeze from both. “That’s my Gamebox. It’s a game console… I haven’t really played it…”

“Wait, wait, wait… what’s a game console?”

“Well, it’s…”

“Wait, wait, wait, don’t tell me!” Spyro leaned in close. His claws gripped Cody by the shoulders, the tips digging in. “You play games on it, right? Like, this is something you could potentially waste hours upon hours on for sheer entertainment!? This place rocks!... You got anything about a cool, handsome, loveable, though not as much as me, dragon that goes on adventures, gets a girlfriend, and saves the world?”

Cody was pale with how close the dragon was, but shook his head and backed away. “Wait a minute… how did you even get here?”

Spyro flew to his backside and latched onto his shoulders again. “Well, that’s the cool part. Right before you did your fancy little trick, I grabbed onto your back like this. It was right at the last second so you didn’t notice. Who’s got the sweet ninja skills now, Stealth Elf?”

Cody whimpered. “But… shouldn’t you-“

“Anyway, now that I’m here, count on this dragon to make himself nice and cozy, because I am never going back!” The dragon was swirling in midair again. “What else do you got around here?”

He swooped to the closet door, ringing alarm bells in Cody’s head.  Just as Spyro pulled the door open, Cody’s hand caught the handle and slammed it shut again. He spoke without turning. “T-There’s nothing in there.”

“Judging by that totally inconspicuous response, I’d say there’s something.”

“That’s not… you-you still can’t go in there…”

Spyro grabbed the free space on the handle. “One thing you should know about me, Code. Not listening to other people is kind of my thing. So without further ado…”

The dragon yanked the door open flinging Cody to the ground. He was up on his feet and cringing as Spyro ran through the contents like a dog on a pile of treats. All feeling in his limbs left with cold blood when Spyro came out with piles of papers, old and limping from his grip. The dragon was biting his lip snickering when he held it out showing drawn flowers, ranging in quality.

“Flowers?” Spyro couldn’t hold back the chuckle after speaking. “Kinda girly, don’t you think?”

Those old scraps – he never wanted to see them again. Cody grabbed the drawings and threw them back through the door, slamming it with a loud crash. A wave of cold rushed through his body, breathing hard as he stared at the handle. Spyro’s wings had stopped flapping, he heard in between pants. The dragon had settled on his bed looking aside.

“Right… this isn’t weird or anything.”

“Sorry…” Cody said regaining control. “So, since you’re here, should we… study?”

“Uh, yeah,” Spyro scoffed. “I came here so I could whittle away the hours with my snout in a book.”

“But, aren’t we supposed…”

“Look, if you want to hit the books, go right ahead. Me, I’ve served my sentence.” Spyro lifted off again. “I am going to take a look around. Figure Earth’s got more sights to see than a room with magic lights and cute little flower drawings.”

“Wait, what?”

“I wanna look around, see the sights.” He spun around the room. “No offense but I think I’m still owed a field trip after someone interrupted the last one! No offense.”

“That… that isn’t… I-I-I don’t think…”

“Spyro away!”

The dragon zoomed for the hallway before Cody could mutter a word more. Shaking his head he went after him, nearly tumbling down the steps and falling flat on his face at the bottom, though a slight sprain was left. By some miracle, he kept up with his new partner’s pace. He blocked the door with his body just as Spyro’s claw had gripped the knob.

“I-I really can’t let you go out there.” Cody stammered. “People can’t see you.”

“Ha, now that is a crime, don’t you think?”

Cody held a hand out in pause. “No, you don’t understand. Humans, they aren’t used to seeing dragons. Except in maybe storybooks and movies…”

Spyro looked to be mulling over the thought, listening to reason and to him. Cody held his breath as his heart almost settled back into its normal pace. For the briefest moment, they stood in silence, Spyro on the ground and Cody relaxed over the door. “Well, that changes everything.”

“R-Really?”

“Yep… it just means I’ll make an even bigger impression!”

The dragon bounded away with springs in his legs and opened the window by the door, crawling beneath the glass. Cody reached for him but crashed over the chair nearby as Spyro had made it onto the lawn. Despite the throb of the sudden landing he slid beneath the glass and called out just as Spyro took to the sky.

“Spyro! Y-You’ll get into trouble!”

To his surprise, the dragon swooped in, their faces inches apart. “Look, Code. Appreciate the concern, the whole watching my back thing. But I got that covered myself. When I fly, I fly solo. Later!”

It would have been at that moment that Cody figured he could meet the heart attack he predicted would bring his death. His lack of attention and basic inability had opened a Pandora’s Box and let loose a dragon on an unsuspecting world of humans. The boy had been in such a panic he reached for his ratty sweater forgetting he was still wearing it. He fumbled with the lock and swung the door open.

Outside was the lawn, the empty street, the chill of winter air slapping him in the face. The outside world, where Spyro was now running amok. Yet his foot was frozen to the door stop, unable to take a step.

It only made sense, right? The last time he went outside he got sucked into an alternate world.

But it was more than that. He wasn’t supposed to leave this house, ever. Cody stayed in that room, letting time and nature and life pass him by for a reason. The same reason he said no to Master Eon’s offer. Spyro didn’t want and likely not even need his help or his partnership, swatting his hand away with a nonchalant brush-off. So then why did he even say yes?

The best thing to do is act like it never happened.

He backed away from the door’s edge and dragged it an inch from closing with a heavy sigh. A chirp from behind made him jump to the bird still on the counter, almost forgetting it was there in the commotion. It shivered and ruffled its feathers, avoiding the sprain on its bandaged wing, but it was eating its fill, calm at last.

The night he saved it, he hadn’t been thinking. At the very least his mind had made a simple calculation of innocent creature plus accident equaled pain. There was nothing else to think about from that point. His father had always told him when he was younger that moments like that were what defined heroes. How confusing those words were to him as a four-year-old, but at least his father was speaking to him.

The bird looked at him and he looked back. Its eye locked directly into his. For a moment he stared. “Oh…”

Shaking his head, he flung the door open again and ran out.

* * *

Spyro never would have guessed a world on the ground would be more interesting than a world in the sky.

The dragon flew in a wide arc around the strange village, his head almost yanked between the strange sights. Endlessness was now ahead instead of downward as the horizon stretched far beyond his sight with no sign of an edge. There were airships with wheels moving fast and humans walking the streets by metal and wood trees with wires twice as tall as Eon, chatting away on their own magic glowing devices. They walked to and from miniature castles with red roofs like kings and queens on duty.

Spyro swooped along a row of bushes with the wind blowing them apart. He perched atop the roof of one castle, head high, wings spread, and gaze vigilant. An ember-filled spark came from his nostrils.

“Here I am, Spyro the dragon, lone protector of… whatever this place is called,” he announced. “A hero from beyond the cosmos come to bring justice, I will erase evil where it hides and shield the weird fleshy creatures from harm. Bad guys beware, for-“

A scream echoed. Spyro looked to the source and gasped.

A woman was backed to the wall near an alleyway by a man in a wool mask. The man had a knife glinting in one hand and another holding out in expectation. The woman clutched onto her purse while people gasped, shouted, backed away or froze in place. Anyone else would have turned and run in a situation like that, but for a certain heroic dragon…

“First few seconds and a bad guy shows up already! I am all fired up!” Spyro zipped to the air. “All right, masked villain, get ready for a dragon-sized helping of justice!”

He charged like a bullet into the fray, a fire in his gut to his throat. The masked man failed to notice his charge, the perfect chance for a sneak attack. Though he might not have been as worried for a different reason. As Spyro made an arc ready to strike from the back, a barrier of wires stopped and entangled him.

The thief had set a trap.

“Gah! What the-. Okay, didn’t see this one coming.” He struggled to escape the mess of wires that roped and dug harder into his scales. “This guy’s pretty clever for some random purse snatcher.”

Another land-ship swerved by with a screech on the roads, a blaring louder than the dreaded school bell. Red and blue lights flashed from its roof stinging his eyes. People moved out of the way as two more humans in blue uniforms and caps with gold badges emerged. They raised pistols at the robber who now had his own back to the wall. From his viewpoint it had all the flair and tension of a classic good guy/bad guy standoff.

Their pistols shot red lasers beaming onto the robber’s chest. One human called. “Do not make any sudden movements! You are under arrest! Put your hands in the air and back away slowly!”

The robber darted his gaze and made the sleazy move of grabbing the woman’s arm and shielding himself behind her. His knife was now raised to her neck. “You’re the ones who should make any moves! Or else the lady gets it!”

The air tightened with a collective gasp from the crowd.

The other blue human waved to the gawking masses. “Keep your distance, people! We have a crime in progress. Go back to your homes and remain there!”

It had all the effect of a veteran Skylander yelling to a crowd of wide-eyed Mabu. The people stood and stared muttering just shifting their feet, either too scared or waiting for something big to happen. The furry townsfolk back in the Skylands would have panicked from a sign of littering – an event like this would have sent them off the deep end.

Some things were universal, Spyro assumed.

“All right, time for a real hero to step in!”

The dragon’s form shifted in the mess of wire sliding between his scales. He swung and spun and in a twister of action he managed to break free snapping the cable in half. With his wings open he looped over and around and resumed his descent. He hit the ground, the crash breaking the concrete.

Every human with working eyes jumped back, no doubt in awe. The robber and policemen lowered their weapons in the same state. Their standoff had been completely forgotten.

“Do not fear, citizens, I am here!”

“W-What the heck is this thing?” The robber stuttered. “You late on your way to some costume party, freak!?”

“Please, I wasn’t about to miss the fun going on here,” Spyro quipped. “You’re messing with the guardian of… whatever this place is called again. So you better release that lady or else you’re in for a world of hurt!”

Even the damsel in distress was confused, enough to forget the knife at an uncomfortable distance from their throat. In fact, there was more silence than Spyro had expected. Mutters came from the crowd like buzzing bugs as they inched closer, and some had even taken out their magic devices to send out flashes. If that was some kind of power, it was a strange way of helping. Only the blue-uniform man had taken proper action inching towards him from behind.

“Kid, this is no time to be playing hero, you need to back away. This man is armed and dangerous. Just come over here and we’ll contact your parents when this is over.”

“What!? I don’t know what part of that to take more offense at! I came here to do some baddie busting, and that’s what I’m gonna do!”

The robber laughed. “Oh, some nut in a dragon costume is gonna haul me off to jail? This is too much!”

“Dragon costume!?”

His hostage was choking in his grip as he continued. “What, what’s next? Do you have some little pixie or dragonfly friend to give you advice on how to beat big, bad me? Huh? You looking for some high score, geek?”

That did it.

Spyro kicked a shockwave of dirt up with his rise to the air, re-seizing the attention of the gathered humans. The blue guys, in true loyalty between heroes, turned their weapons to him for a moment. “Yeah, hope you had fun laughing it up. But let’s see if some geek in a dragon costume can do this!”

“He’s flying?”

“What the heck’s going on?”

A pale wash went over the robber’s face and his hostage’s. “Hey, kid… You better back off if you know what’s good for you.”

“I was about to say the same, minus the kid part. Get ready for a face full of flame!”

Spyro took in his breath, gases building and heat rising in the deep of his throat. He reared his head as the lashes of flames came to his jaws and let loose. The robber’s screamed rang in his ears as the jet of fire escaped from his mouth, burning his flesh to ash. At least, he envisioned that last part. Though when he threw back and opened his maw, all that came was…

…a puff of smoke. One puff vanishing into air in seconds. “Huh?”

The dragon built his flame again and released, but only more smoke. A third attempt with more force and a cough was his only reward. He tried three more times and managed a spark on the second try, but that was all luck had for him. The reality was criminal – he was a fire-breathing dragon who somehow could no longer breathe fire.

“Okay, uh… this little snafu was not quite expected,” his tone cracked. “Just gotta, just gotta pump the old billows here.”

“Well, guess flying’s all you got, kid. Some show, I gotta say.” He flinched as the robber creeped forward like a Fire Viper on its prey now that the tables had turned. “So much for a ‘face full of flame’ – guess you should have checked your props before this little show.”

“Uh, don’t get any ideas, tough guy.” Spyro held his ground, though his body had different ideas as his feet moved back. His scales rattled with the shiver running along his body. He shook it off with the best heroic stance he could muster. “Y-you’re messing with a bona-fide hero!”

“Both of you, do not move!” The other humans shouted. “Stay where you are!”

“Come on, Mr. Hero,” the robber almost strutted with the man’s word on his deaf ear. “Let’s see what you got…”

He growled to ward off the human, but he could tell an empty threat. No doubt his bowed head and his claw gripping at the cracked concrete was a bit of a difficulty as well. A band of Greebles or trolls armed to the teeth with their clubs was easier to stare down and were far more dangerous. Though the knife that rolled sunlight off it’s surface in the robber’s hand was looking sharp, Spyro could almost feel the cut. There was a particular pit of emptiness in his stomach along with the smog without a fire to fight back with.

Spyro was the best of the best in the Skylands, the perfect scores, stylish moves, and here the best he could manage was as a glorified sparkler. He would never hear the end of it if Eon or Stealth Elf or Eruptor or literally anyone from the Academy was here. First day on the job and he was raising his wings as a last-ditch effort at intimidation.

“Aw, forget it!” He flapped and flew away.

The robber watched dazed. The woman in his grip broke loose and whacked him with her purse. The other human tackled him to the ground.

* * *

Cody huddled past the street hiding his face in almost complete shadow. Even obscured behind the waves of clouds daylight still peaked out from the blanket of grey stinging his eyes. He moved with stealth sticking close to houses doing everything humanly possible to avoid contact or communication of any sort. For a reason he might have already known, more people were out and walking despite the winter chill.

“…Spyro? Spyro?” His calls were as audible as the leaves blowing.

His head rolled all around as he ran looking for any shade of purple or any flap of wings. All he got were people chatting, cars rolling, and the impact of blue as he hit a mailbox without seeing.

A pedestrian walked to him as he nursed his throbbing nose. “You all right, kid?”

The boy’s answer was a sprint towards whatever secluded spot was within sight.

He hid between the gap of two houses, shoving his heart back down to his chest with heavy gasps. He was really outside, after five years of never leaving his house. No matter how many times he blinked there was still concrete with gaps for weeds poking at his feet. People were walking by scrolling through their phones at every moment.

“Oh, don’t tell me…”

Cody flicked his own phone on and picked the news app. Ten articles in the last minute all stating how someone in ‘a purple dragon costume’ had tried to take on an armed robber. His eyes practically popped out. “Oh, no. No, nononono… how did this happen?”

He wandered out hovering over his phone with the disaster of Spyro becoming the social media topic of the month in his first few moments on earth. He was cut off from his thoughts by the screech of tires. A police car had stopped right in front of him, its skid marks still smoking.

The door opened and a policeman emerged in full uniform, more like a suit of armor the way its numerous pins, badges and buttons gleamed sharp. His powerfully-built body just restrained by the coat, he took a step and the fabric stretched like the crack of a whip. He peered down at the boy from the shadows brought by his cap’s rim. His red locks, the same shade as the boy’s own, further covered the stony glare and a face almost carved from rock.

“Cody?” The man asked.

“D-dad.”


	13. Strange New Place

Cody had done his best not to writhe in the plastic seat staring at his lap. The one thing about police stations and prisons were that they were second homes for his family.

Fluorescent lights buzzed over the space filled with stacks of papers, the sound and pale lights headache inducing. A person’s thoughts would be drowned out with scores of officers muttering on their headsets or phones ringing. Yet his father reclined eyes shut in his leather chair across the desk, almost at peace. The man had once spent two weeks in this very room sorting through reports without ever coming home. He wouldn’t be surprised if there was a bed in the room.

The silence was always the worst as the man stood and trudged to the window staring to the lawn. A flash of his badge crossed Cody’s sight. ‘Gregory Evans,’ the only name he knew the man by now. A heavy sigh escaped his mouth.

“I didn’t think this would be an issue. That you’d stay out of trouble being home schooled.”

His stomach twisted in knots. “…I-I didn-“

“And yet here you are, running around the neighborhood without a care in the world.” His tone carried not one ounce of concern. “Did you lock the doors and windows before leaving? Did you bring your phone or wallet? Do you want burglars to break in or toss you in a trash can? Did you even think to prepare before you decided to act like a hooligan?”

The start of tears caused his eyes to burn. He only stared at his lap, letting silence speak for him.

He nearly fell from his seat when the door burst open. The curly-haired, sweater-wearing shape of Ms. Phillips barged in, her usual friendly face stowed away. A sterner version Cody never usually saw was in its place.

“Leave it to you to intrude on family matters, Lori. As usual…”

“Do not start that with me, Greg!” She barked. “Someone had to step in and take care of Cody while his devoted father was off playing ‘policeman.’ True to form you haul him off like a common criminal.”

“My son was wandering around the streets on his own. I picked him up in my squad car.”

“And I suppose you left your handcuffs in a drawer or something?”

“Here we go again,” the chief rolled his eyes unfazed. “All right, let’s flip the situation and ask what you would do if you saw an unaccompanied minor hiding between two houses and sneaking around?”

“For starters I’d ask if he was alright. Especially if he was my child!”

“Last I checked his documents his last name was ‘Evans.’ Let me say it again – you’re free to give my son his private lessons but family matters are out of your jurisdiction.”

Her stare from behind those rimmed glasses dropped the temperature in the room. “They are when a certain someone needs reminding he has a family. You flaunt that word around, yet you carry on like your wife and child don’t even exist. Who else was going to watch over Cody after Alice passed?”

Cody went rigid, a glacier running his chest through. Her name. That was the trigger word for Armageddon.

Winter doubled over and the room went freezing, blizzards raging, air thin as paper, a new Ice Age triggered in that single office. Never in the half-hour he had been dragged into this police station had he wanted to leave more. Whether to find Spyro or to return to his room and barricade the door he wasn’t sure or didn’t care. Just to live that bliss his father did, to go on like she was never even real.

That still begged the question of how to leave. Running off would land him right back in his seat, and talking to his father was just as pointless. Right now the esteemed chief was going on like he was no longer in the room. His leg budged just to the side as if the former suddenly came with a last-minute appeal.

His father’s voice suddenly came back into focus from the white noise. “… Look I got my hands full right now trying to track down some punk in a dragon costume who tried to play hero against an armed robber-“

Spyro, Cody thought jumping to the edge.

“-So if you have a solution to this, let’s hear it.” He turned away clearing himself of the whole ordeal.

Ms. Phillips turned to him again, back to her usual sweet demeanor. “Cody… I must admit, I’m a little surprised. I didn’t think you would come out of the house so suddenly.”

Cody half-nodded.

“Don’t get me wrong, this is a good sign. It’s a fantastic sign – you can finally go outside again,” she placed hands on his shoulders. “This means we can finally move forward. I can get in contact with a therapist, we can keep taking steps. And maybe… you can finally go back to school!”

That sent another cold jolt, although sweat was running still. She had no conceivable idea. Cody shook his head, stammering out bits of sentences without any connection. He settled for pulling in and hugging his knees to his chest. It was the best substitute for the door to his room.

“I understand you’re nervous, Cody. Maybe scared. But I’ll still be there: I’m the school counselor over at St. Masters Elementary, so you can still get in touch with me. We can talk if you need help and if you want to go back to the usual.”

He lifted his head.

“But I think this is very important for you: going to school might be what will finally help you get past this. Meet some kids your age and make some friends. It’s well past the start of the school year but I’ll put in a word with the teachers to give you some accommodations as well, and I’ll get in touch with a doctor. Again, though, only if you’re okay with it.”

It was a loop of time in his head to where Ms. Phillips was a man with a flowing white beard and several mystical creatures surrounded her with eager faces. He never once considered himself a star student, never got particularly excellent grades. Yet schools everywhere couldn’t resist making a student out of him. He wanted to put his feet on the ground and insist louder than ever that schools, friends, life, just weren’t for him. 

Instead he just swallowed and stared.

* * *

Big and loud, those were his first impressions.

A week later, there he was on a busy sidewalk at the entrance to St. Masters. Earth’s parallel to the towers of Skylander Academy, the brick building stood at a shrieking four stories high. Cody cricked his neck looking up to the roof adding to the weight of a backpack filled with fifth grade textbooks. Its dull-colored walls rattled with the marches and shouts from the armies of children running around, their words lost in the noise. At the sidewalk school buses and cars came to unload more with the screech of their engines like explosions.

He thought he’d have at least a week before being thrown into the fray.

The boy understood Ms. Phillips’ intentions, really. To anyone else, a lifetime spent inside the house wasn’t a healthy sign. But a leap like this was like expecting a bird to fly across a forest after a single flap. She would understand if he wanted to go back to their private lessons and he only had to deal with one school’s potential chaos.

Right?

“Excuse me,” a polite voice came from behind him. “Would you mind stepping aside?”

Cody turned to the owner and his breath hitched. He was looking at what seemed like a modern-day princess, brunette hair in braids and a seamless, unruffled pink dress with a bow on the chest. Not a wrinkle in place, not even on her face as she wore a smile that he could barely tell was forced. “Were you waiting for someone, perhaps?”

“Oh!” He stammered and stumbled aside. “N-no. Sorry…”

Her heels clacked on the side walk as she passed. Her smile seemed a bit more genuine as she spared a glance to him. “Thank you. I suppose I might see you again sometime. Perhaps.”

“Uh…”

“Have a wonderful day, Ms. Emeraude,” came a dignified voice behind her.

Cody jumped as through from fire to see the girl had apparently emerged from a stretch limousine. A driver in a black suit had been the one to send her off. She made no response to her attendant’s words as she walked on.

He almost hesitated walking on the same ground but followed suit. At least until a sharp blow struck him in the head.

The first thing he registered after the taste of dirt and sting of concrete on his cheek was the hand that grabbed him by the scruff. Focusing he stared into a vicious pair of green eyes belonging to a freckled face and misaligned teeth morphed into a scowl. A more plump face stood nearby hungry for the spectacle.

“Well, what do we got here?” The first answered with a voice like crunching rocks. “Fresh meat.”

“Nice, we were getting bored picking on all the other wimps around here.”

“Yeah, always fun to see a new crying face.” The first pulled him closer, the move a phantom blow to the gut. “Alright, wimp. Fork over all the money and candy you got.”

His first day and already he was running into bullies. Why couldn’t anyone leave him alone, he thought stammering.

“That doesn’t sound like a ‘yes, sirs!’ Do you wanna get your face caved in, new kid?”

“I say do it,” the second piped in. “Maybe he’ll feel more like sharing then!”

“Good idea. I know I feel like sharing!” The first bully raised his fist.

Something splattered on him the second after he shut his eyes. It might have been drool or blood – he’d really hoped for the former at least – but found it stickier. He’d dared to peek and saw the first bully’s head was covered in a white-green gunk. Both of his tormentors went slack jawed as the stuff dripped and ran slowly down the neck.

The first bully went red in the face. “Alright, who did that? Who around here’s got a death wish!?”

Another shot was his answer. A red balloon smacking his face toppling him over, exploding with the same gunk. Out of the grip, Cody fell back with him, just avoiding the impact.

Smearing the bits of goo from his face he looked to the mystery attacker. Perched on the stone rail for the steps, a boy his age with messy black hair and a torn jean jacket stared back with laser-eyed focus. Cody didn’t dare look away if the kid wanted attention, lest he be on the receiving end of the slingshot in his grip. He stood with a new balloon in his free hand, his stance a fine line between ‘hero’ and ‘rebel.’

The balloon quivered as he juggled it in his grip, almost waiting to be launched. “There’s plenty more bags of mystery goop where that came from. Unless you want to find out how many, I suggest you back off.”

“You again?” The second bully spoke with some familiarity.

The first had gotten back up, wiping the goop off his face. “You just don’t know when to quit, do you?”

“I could say the same thing. Trips to the principal’s office just don’t seem to be working out. Figures.”

“Oh, you are gonna get it, McKenneth!”

The two charged like angry animals. The other kid must have been the one with a death wish as without flinching, he spun the slingshot and loaded the balloon in his hand. He pulled the string back and launched, smacking the bullies with goo-loaded balloons. Like gunshots they came and coated the bullies from head to toe in goo.

After five shots each they’d had enough and ran off. One of them screamed they’d remember as much as Cody wanted to forget. He’d gathered his backpack’s contents that had spilled from the open pocket in the mess. A shadow hung over him, belonging to the slingshot kid.

“Uh…”

“Standing around makes you a target.”

His shadow peeled away as he walked off. He couldn’t tell if it was helpful advice or if it was a veiled threat. Good will was rare to come by, he reasoned drawing his thoughts slowly to the latter. Good will on him was outright wasted. 

The boy scooped up his backpack and followed. To think the day had barely even begun…

.

The boy stepped no further than the edge of the door into the hallway. Something about the squeaks of a thousand sneakers and the stench of fresh ink on the posters lining the way. Hollow welcomes to kids that didn’t even spare a glance. If they would give him the same treatment he could brave the gauntlet to Ms. Phillips’s office, wherever it was.

Pulling his hood up, he paced as inconspicuous as possible. Bowing his head, not daring to lock eyes with another living soul. His breath held in his throat, he’d never concentrated so hard in his life.

Yet he still didn’t see where he was going. The boy bumped into a tall obstacle in a business suit.

“Sorry about that. You all right, boy?” The man turned and knelt to face him. His standard attire of a suit and tie along with deep auburn hair didn’t fit along with the kindly smile he gave the boy on the floor. Perhaps it was the standard his own father set to not expect kindness from a man in such attire.

Cody caught himself staring, again. “Oh, n-no. I me-I mean yes.”

The man took his hand and raised him to his feet, shaky as he was on his knees. “That’s one way to make an introduction. You know, I can’t quite place it, but you seem… familiar.”

“I… do?”

He dusted some invisible dirt off his suit and stood almost proudly and at attention, his arms behind his back. “No, never mind. Just my imagination. Call me Mr. Leichter. I take it you’re a new student at this school.”

Cody turned to the ground. His best non-disagreement as an agreement.

The man, Leichter, kept staring at him, waiting for an answer. He felt as though he was under a stethoscope the man was paying so much attention. His foot shifted an inch back straying away. 

“Ah, well, I suppose you might as well be, since I just can’t seem to place your face. Truth be told, my daughter is also a student here, and she has quite the reputation. In fact, that’s her now.”

Cody looked behind him and saw the girl in question, marching down the hall. Her heels almost cracked the concrete with the way she paced, her plaid skirt barely moving. Her arms folded behind her back in the same way as her father’s, she might have been carrying a bit or whip with the way her gaze intensified like steel upon noticing him. The boy shuddered wanting to back five paces for every one of her treads.

Another girl was at her side, like a secretary. Brown-skinned but wearing a lab coat and glasses with no sign of her eyes glancing over her clipboard. She was completely engrossed in whatever notes she had yet she still kept an even stride with the harsh young lady next to her with almost no effort.

“Well, I’ll leave you to get acquainted. Work hard, you’ve got a lot of studying to do.”

Mr. Leichter walked off. His daughter took his place with a scrutinous eye.

“Don’t bother introducing yourself, I took a good look at your records.” She huffed. “I am quite well aware of who you are – the problem student.”

Cody didn’t even stammer or gasp at her slap of a comment. Better to let her say her piece with as little resistance as possible, not like it was warranted. A problem student was a light way of spinning things in his opinion.

“Pay attention when I’m speaking to you!”

“Uh… so-“

“Spare me your excuses, do you know who I am? I am Mallory Leichter, student council president. My duties are to ensure the continued participation and performance of students at St. Masters. I do not tolerate any imperfections and your academic files are full of them, being out of public school for five years straight!”

“W-Well, I was-“

“Home schooled,” She went on as if he had no right to speak. “That is no proper way to receive an education, away from your peers and proper guidance. In my opinion it’s nothing but a gateway for trouble-inducing delinquents.”

This was the first day of school he was expecting.

“You’ll be glad to know that I will be devoting time to ensure you don’t fall behind. Not that I expect much from you,” she turned to the other girl. “Ms. Bryant, give him his required documents.”

The other girl gave a tired sigh, finally pulled away from her notes and tiredly handed a stack of papers to Cody. “Those are your papers.” She spoke in a British accent. “They include your syllabus for your class, a map of the school campus, schedules for the itinerary and permission slips and other files for your parent or guardian. Please have them signed and completed by the appropriate dates.”

“T-Thank you…?” He relapsed the memory of Hugo and the mountain of books.

It might have been his imagination, but it was to the other girl’s relief as much as his that Mallory had finally walked away, stalking as hard as she came. The Bryant girl adjusted her glasses and returned to him. “You’ve been assigned to the fifth-grade classroom at the end of the hall, across from the library. Please note you are not permitted on the upper floors as they are for student council and teachers and staff.”

“Oh, a-actually, I need to speak with… with Ms. Phillips.”

“If you want to speak with the school counselor, you must notify your parent or guardian to set up an appointment first.” Her speech almost became robotic spouting off rules and guidelines without pause. “Now then, I’m actually quite busy with other things so I’ve arranged for another to show you around the school before class begins.”

“HOLA!” The excited shriek of another boy came from out a nearby door.

“And there he is.”

The girl had walked away, or rather escaped, as Cody came inches away from another boy’s face. Frizzy hair and tan skin but with bright-colored clothes: green shorts and a red-sleeved white shirt with a taco on the chest. He was a powder keg of excitement as he bounced all around the frozen Cody.

“You must be the new kid. I know you’re new because I saw you walking around and I thought to myself ‘Sorpresa! I’ve never seen this kid before.’ If I haven’t seen you before you must be new so I wanted to give a big hola, like I did before, but then you started talking to other people. Which was good because you seemed a little shy. But I guess you’re not shy because here you are, the new kid, talking to me!”

“Uh…”

“So, I’m supposed to give you a tour. I guess you kind of need one, since again, you’re new around here. But I guess if you’re talking to people you must know what the school’s like. But anyway, let’s review!”

He yanked Cody by the hand and ran off, almost leaving trails of flame. The two rushed to door after door. “So that’s the aula, the classroom. The biblioteca, the library. The gimnasio, the gym. Yadda, yadda, yadda. OH!!!”

He stopped at two open double doors. The room inside was with multiple benches and an empty stall. Only a few people were in the back. It was a cafeteria, Cody reasoned. Yet the other boy was peering at some sacred zone.

“The cafeteria, with all kinds of delectable, delicioso dishes. The French bread rolls with crisp crust and a golden fluffy texture, the salad with cucumber and tomatoes. The pizza on fluffy pan crust with freshly roasted sausage and melted mozzarella and parmesan…. You wanna get lunch!?”

“But… classes haven’t even started.”

“Call it an early brunch,” the hyper kid shrugged. “You look like a… tuna salad bagel sandwich with a side bowl of turkey and bean chili kind of guy!” Cody blinked. The boy knew his preferred lunch with one guess. Scary.

“Doesn’t look like that’s on the menu, but I can always whip something up. The lunch ladies love me and let me back all the time!... Oh yeah, I’m Pablo! What’s your name, chili-sandwich-new-kid?”

“I’m…”

Cody wanted to avoid giving names, best not to get attached at all. He’d made the mistake of getting involved before and now had one foot in the muck. Best to get his father to talk to Ms. Phillips to help him yank it out and he could go back to only having one new school to deal with. Speaking of which…

One purple-scaled student was at the cafeteria window pressing on the glass. He paled.

“Spyro!”

“Spyro?” Pablo was still there. “That’s un nombre muy gracioso! Funny name!” The other boy’s laughter echoed as Cody ran out the hall.

Cody followed the streaks of purple to the outside of the school. Enough students had gone inside the building that even a dragon wouldn’t garner attention. Circling around the building, he felt his body swung around and staring into the frantic, frustrated face of Spyro.

“There you are! I checked back so many times at your place and you were gone!” The boy almost wanted to apologize, even if he wasn’t sure for what. “Enough kids were around this place so I swung around here.”

“Did anyone… see you?”

“Uh, yeah! Plenty of people saw my epic fail! From there it was dodging folks and their weird flashy things! Let me tell you right now – you have no idea what I’ve been through in the last week! And to top it off, this! Another school!”

Cody swallowed the tension of the past week down for them both. “What happened?”

“For whatever whacked-out reason, my flame doesn’t work!” Spyro was zipping in circles letting off steam. The dragon was a ticking time-bomb, and his ticking was getting louder by the second. “I could have taken that dirtbag on easy if I could have puffed out even a spark! This world is broken!”

The boy shushed him. For either of their luck, Pablo or any other of the crazy gaggle of kids he had met today would be here. They didn’t need to be mystical creatures like the Skylanders to have outrageous personalities or circumstances. That universal evil was perhaps the one thing he and Spyro could agree on in that moment.

“Look, I have to go back and deal with this… let’s just get you back to the Skylands.”

The dragon descended, sulking. “Fine. So much for being an otherworld hero…”

Cody sighed with him. “So much for things being simple…”

The Portal in his hand glowed. In a flash of light, the two vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we come to the end of another one. I have to say, considering the fact that I’m speed posting these new chapters, this one didn’t turn out that bad. I think the next one will take a different perspective, since I focus on Spyro and Cody a lot.
> 
> Anyhoo, we got a lot of introductions in this chapter. Keep your eyes peeled, because nearly every one of these new faces will be relevant once the story goes forward. At least one problem was solved, but now things have become a lot more difficult with more than one school in the mix.


	14. First Day

Another day of class, with seats filled, pencils sharpened, and textbooks at the ready. At the same time, there was that feeling in the air of something entirely new, with all the tension a first day was supposed to bring. For once, many of the students were rapt with attention.

Stealth Elf was no different, though she wouldn’t blame others for not being able to tell.

Some cadets were gossiping or passing notes as to some aspect of Jet-Vac’s mountains of homework when she had materialized out of smoke. It might as well have been her fumes of anger after Spyro’s little stunt in sneaking off with an unsuspecting Cody to the human world. Even his defeated sulking didn’t spare him from the onslaught of light-speed sheep bashing he had earned himself as punishment. She normally wouldn’t have seized Master Eon’s thunder, but she had done so when she had shouted him right into his room and kept him on academic lockdown.

It was the least his recklessness had earned him for burdening Cody. Fate was dragging the kid on a rocket-powered airship ride from the Skylands right into another school for humans. Between being under his father’s lock and key, meetings to settle into his human school and studying for his classes, he had no chance to find Spyro. Not that anyone would have blamed him – the dragon had a penchant for not listening to others.

She tapped her pencil leaning her head on her hand keeping watch for the entrance. Spyro and Cody, the first Skylander and Portal Master pair. Master Eon had high hopes for them, but that only made one person in that Academy. She’d rather have seen for herself with all due respect to their headmaster: her instincts had never steered her wrong.

The door burst open. In came the pair of the hour.

Spyro was swimming in the air, looping in show for his classmates. He stopped overhead and plopped into the seat next to hers reclining with a grin. His performance had done little to impress the others, as usual.

Cody was another matter, completely lacking the energy or grace his partner displayed. He was teetering left and right, tripping over his own feet. The bags under his eyes just showed from the side and shadows of his red locks as he looked away from the crowd. The boy waited by the stone arch at the entrance into the room, gripping the straps of his pack.

The class looked back and forth between the two. Eruptor, ever on the attack, was the first to pipe up. “You forget something?”

Spyro snorted. “Please. Elf made sure I was ready for every test until semester’s end. Least I got out for good behavior.”

“I’m pretty sure Eruptor was referring to the half-dead human kid at the door.” Elf gestured to Cody.

“Yeah, it wouldn’t have killed you to give your new partner a few lessons before class.”

“Ah, he didn’t need my help. Code hit the books, hard, and Eon always says, ‘persistence is the key to success...’ There, I passed that little nugget of wisdom onto my comrade in arms. Partnership achieved.”

Skull floated into Spyro’s face, his orb smashing his snout. “Okay, that is some lousy symbiosis going on there. And this is coming from me, a familiar! Someone who’s supposed to do all of Hex’s bidding right down to after-school clubs!”

“Yeah, I don’t think you get how the partnership thing works, Mr. Perfect-in-Purple.” Hex called from her seat.

“Seriously, Spyro. Cody isn’t in the least bit ready for what Skylanders are supposed to do.” Elf stared him down. “How do you think a kid who’s never dealt with magic or monsters will do in an actual battle? He almost fainted just looking at the obstacle course, and he barely held himself together against a few Greebles.”

“Just call it the kid getting his Sky-legs. We all did at first… except for me.”

“Oh, here we go again!” Eruptor barked. “Highest entrance exam score in the history of the Academy – we were all there, we all lived it! If only we could move on!”

“Exam scores didn’t help in that mess against Chompy Mage,” Elf continued. “Which you got us into, if I recall.”

“Okay, okay! You want me to help him, you want a two-way street? Fine!” Spyro flew up and called to Cody, who’s living half seemed to only barely pay attention. “Code, if you’re still with us, just know you got the amazing Spyro to get you through the perils and pitfalls of Skylander Academy. A hundred-percent satisfaction guaranteed!”

The boy snapped to attention, shying away.

“I’m pretty sure the kid wants his money back already,” Gill Grunt laughed.

“Yeah, if I were in his shoes, I’d feel like I was paying every second,” added Sprocket. “But at the same time, being teamed up with ‘Spyro the Great’ is a deal that probably doesn’t need any fixing up.”

“We should all be so lucky…” Hex drawled.

“Ah, my adoring public.” Spyro returned to his recline. Elf and Eruptor just sighed. It sounded like a step in the right direction, but with Spyro no one could tell if he ever had the right attitude.

The door burst again, this time with a jet of colorful smoke bursting. Pink and green fumes expelled from the entrance and spread over the classroom. As it settled, and everyone stopped coughing, a furry blue gremlin with beakers in hand was posed in front of their seats. Cody had frozen in place as Pop Fizz kept his googly eyes every which way but forward.

“So that’s what happens when you mix volatile chemicals,” Pop Fizz shouted in his weird voice. “Oh! Right, time to get on with the whole school thing. Okay, so apparently we got a new kid waiting in the wings.”

All the students were only reminded of Cody when Pop swung like a monkey over atop the boy’s shoulders. He looked tired but even Pop’s light weight nearly brought him toppling. It was one of the rare moments Elf would have suggested a time-out from class.

“So, what’s your name? We have ways of making you talk.”

“U-uh… Ah… Er…” Even the boy’s usual stuttering was drawled and sluggish.

“Don’t remember or something? Ah, whatever – I forget who I am all the time. Among other things…” The gremlin cast a look around. “Hey, how did I get in a classroom?”

“Took the words right out of my beak, Pop.”

Jet-Vac paced into the room, arms behind his back and beak up ready to puncture a hole in the sky. His armor was more polished than usual that morning. The veteran Skylander likely wanted to reflect the momentous occasion of a Portal Master joining the Academy, as he did with most things. He only shifted a pupil when he looked to Pop-Fizz. “You’re in the wrong class, again.”

“Oh, whoops…. Sorry, JV.” He broke out his beakers and poured one’s contents into the other. “Catch you guys on the flip side. If I survive this.”

The concoction exploded with smoke in every color and sent the insane gremlin flying towards a nearby slab of island floating ahead. If they concentrated, they could hear a faint ‘I’m fine.’

“That’s going to stick in my head for a while…” Eruptor muttered.

“Right then, here we all are, on time for a change.” Jet-Vac cast an evil eye at Spyro. “As you are aware, we have a new student, currently twiddling his thumbs and shaking like a leaf in the corner. This is Cadet Cody – rise and give him a proper Skylander introduction!”

The class stood as one with a show of uniformity. Yet they gave half-hearted grumbles of welcome. The curse of Spyro might have already been spreading to the unfortunate kid.

“I ask for soldiers and they give me this… Cadet Cody is the first Portal Master student here at Skylander Academy, and he is to be given the proper amount of respect and reverence.” Again, the soldier bird’s gaze and words and all the dignified ire behind them went to Spyro, who was currently balancing a pencil on his snout.

Cody walked the steps almost pressing against the wall and took his seat in the farthest corner, concealed by the tree’s shade. Gripping onto the desk for balance he nearly collapsed and went to staring at the wood. From there the boy seemed to turn off his mind and let the rest of the world fade to black. Elf’s gaze kept on him like a ninja star to the wall as if to ensure he wouldn’t disappear.

“Now then, today’s lesson. Who can explain the nature of the Elements of the Skylands?”

Elf raised her hand. “The Elements are the building blocks of the Skylands. Every creature, land, and artifact that exists here is made up of an element.”

“Right you are, Ms. Elf. And precisely how many known elements are there?”

“Researchers and wizards are still investigating, but to this date, only 10 have been discovered.”

“Indeed,” Jet-Vac paced. “Now then, Ms. Elf, not that I don’t appreciate your paying attention, but I believe we should see just how much our newest recruit has studied up. Cadet Cody, can you name one of the elements of the Skylands?”

Cody snapped up gaping like a fish out of water, his pupils darting. Voice croaking, he turned to the trio of Skylanders at the other end. Elf and Eruptor mimed any symbol they could think while out of Jet-Vac’s view: the trees, the clouds, anything where sense could guide him down the road to the answer. Sadly, their signs were as good as gibberish.

Elf turned to Spyro wondering if the peril his partner now faced would trigger any generous instinct in her classmate. The dragon only remained puffing smoke rings out leaning in his seat. Spyro was a magnet for their instructor’s attention, drawing him from Cody at least.

“Well, it seems a certain someone has it all figured out. Is my lesson too boring for you, Spyro?”

“Your lessons? Never. I’m just looking into an important topic right now.”

“What would that be, pray tell?”

“How hard I can breathe to get an ember out, duh.” 

Cody came back into existence as his voice piped out. “Uh, fire!?”

Jet-Vac returned to him, giving a nod. “Ah, yes. Correct. Very good – it seems your partner was of assistance after all.”

Stealth Elf turned her steely glare to the dragon whew blew a cloud of swirling embers and smog out. He was lost in that little cloud of his own indulgence. He was of no help at all, or at the very least he wasn’t trying to help.

“Right then, to continue.” Jet-Vac’s voice returned her to the lesson as it should have. Strange that she was taking such an interest in other people. “The elements of the Skylands, as Ms. Elf has stated, apply to artifacts and tools used as well. In particular, these.”

The bird-man brought out a case lined with crystals pulsing in a rainbow of colors. Their glows captured the awe of every creature, human or otherwise in the room. Even Spyro, who would have severed his own wings to miss a class, had shot to attention at the sight of the magical gems.

That should have been a welcome change, but Elf’s tense hands around her desk’s edge reflected the feeling in her gut saying otherwise. 

“As you’ll remember from our incident with Chompy Mage, these are Traptanium Crystals. We Skylanders use them to make our arrests of criminals like the Doom Raiders. Only a crystal of the corresponding element will successfully capture a villain. Keep sharp, this will be on the test!”

Elf’s attention shifted, unclear as her pupils. Again, her thoughts wandered to the pair at either sides of the room. The two were like night and day, different in everything from their personalities to their reactions. Spyro stared at the crystals like a crow catching the glint of something shiny while Cody remained gloomy and silent hoping to melt into the shade. In terms of their norms Spyro would fly into the sun writing self-promotion for his good looks and high scores and Cody would stick to the nearest corner and let his presence drift to where he’d be passed as a figment of imagination 

What did they really think of each other, or the fact that they had been thrust into a life at each other’s sides? 

She and Eruptor had enough experience to know that Spyro looked at others the way a convict would look at the ball and chain strapped to their leg. No doubt Cody, who he had just met not long ago would be given that same treatment past all the happy smiles and just words. As for Cody, he had set his terms to Eon of a trial run, and after that would vanish in a burst of light back into that dark paradise he thought his room to be. The boy didn’t have long enough exposure to Spyro to think of him as the others did and didn’t seem to want that time either.

The two were willing to be civil but still wanted to place barriers between themselves. They had their worlds with their rules and everything that soothed them and didn’t plan on leaving. Would they really be alright as partners?

* * *

The struggle was half over for the Skylanders as the sun sat centered above in midday. The dragon found it the perfect time to stretch his wings and feel the air void of judging stares or anything but the wind between his scales. Wide awake he took the chance to scan for a certain drowsy-eyed kid in a ratty sweater, dragging himself to the entrance.

He swooped down and stopped Cody with a second’s warning. “Yo, Code! So, how was your first day here at old SA?”

“W-Well-“

“That’s great, glad to hear it.” He slinked an arm around the boy’s rigid shoulder. Any contact at all and it just turned to stone. “Now, normally I don’t do the whole ‘asking for favors’ thing, but I was wondering if you could lend a claw for a little extracurricular activity I’m working on.”

“Ah, there you two are.”

Like a whip crack, Spyro leapt to attention at the boy’s side with the call of Master Eon. The old wizard gave a friendly look to them both though it turned a little more judgmental turning to the dragon. He gave his best inconspicuous grin with the full rows of his pearly whites exposed.

Eon puffed out looking proud at them side by side. “I had hoped to speak with you both as soon as your first class ended. Young Cody, adjusting well, I presume.”

“Yes, sir…”

“Yup, couldn’t be better!” Spyro added. “Like destiny, the two of us. Just best buds!”

“I’m glad to hear it – hopefully your success will be the grounds for the Skylanders and Portal Masters of the future, should that day come.” Eon was truly happy, which Spyro had to admit made him happy. Though the old wizard’s tone took an almost solemn tone. “In truth though, I am going around sending a warning to all students in light of Chompy Mage’s recent attack on the Academy. We received reports from Snap Snot at Cloudcracker Prison, informing us that Kaos was the reason for the Doom Raiders’ release.”

That caught the dragon off-guard. He assumed anyone else would have the same reaction. “Kaos, as in mega-melon? Mr. I-Dream-of-being-an-Evil-Overlord? That Kaos?”

“The very same,” Eon quirked a brow. “How he managed to do so is a matter I am concerned with, but we must look into it later. For now, the Doom Raiders is what is of greatest concern. The staff and I are sending a message to all students to remain on alert and not to venture out unattended. Who knows when our foes will strike next.”

“You think they’ll come back here?” Cody asked.

“Who knows? A hero must always be vigilant in the face of danger… Anyway, enjoy your lunch!”

Eon left for the Academy.

With the wizard out of sight, Spyro took back course. He flapped and perched on Cody’s shoulders. “Well, we don’t need to worry about them coming here. We are going to bring the fight to them.”

“What!?”

“My plan of being a hero to humans kinda fizzled out along with my flame. So I have to resort to Plan B: we find all the Doom Raiders, re-capture them, the Skylands throws a party and parade in our honor and hello, freedom!”

“But aren’t we just students?” Cody dashed away backing to a tree. “How are we supposed to fight criminals?”

“With these!”

Spyro broke out from a spot near Cody’s tree the case of Traptanium Crystals from class. He pulled open the case and both stared at the full spectrum of freedom in the dragon’s hands. They shimmered and pulsed with power, almost vibrating the chest and his claws.

“You wouldn’t believe what I went through to get these from old JV. I swear that guy could sleep at attention.” Spyro caught Cody’s stare locked on, a sure hook. “Eon says a Portal Master’s power can make them work.”

The boy blinked turning away. He swam free in hesitation once more. “Uh…”

Spyro sighed. “Look, Eon filled me in on how it works. There’s no magic in your world, so your powers? My fire? No go. The only thing I can do… well, I’m doing it.” Flapping and flying in the air demonstrated his point. “Staying in one place is not going to fix our situation.”

That got the kid’s attention. In fact, it almost stuck some personal cord within him as he stared like he’d seen a ghost.

Spyro shut the case and swerved behind the boy’s form. “We both want to get out of here, right? One thing we can both agree on is that there’s no point in either of us being here. Just think of this as extracurricular towards an early graduation. We do this, and we never have to come back or even think of old Skylander Academy again. In fact you don’t even have to do the hard stuff; I can take care of the bad guys before you can say ‘Eon’s your uncle.’ So we got us a deal?”

Spyro was hoping with all the swerving around the boy’s pupils were doing it was building up some energy for him to say yes. He was willing to commit to the necessary evil of having a partner in back-alley justice when the wild blue yonder called. There really was nothing they had in common other than the firm belief that neither of them was meant to be there. Cody was a nice kid, but Spyro and friendships, they just never worked out.

Yet the boy only gave a small croak and turned away. Spyro gave a growling pout like the boy needed a written order. Sighing he cooled down and slid the case into his pack, Cody watching all the while.

“Just take some time. Not too much time, because the sooner the better right.” The dragon gave a thumb up. “And best to keep this whole thing on the down-low, too.

Cody nodded walking to the school. He’d come around. After all, they had everything to gain and nothing to lose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That brings us to the end of another one. You thought Cody would be in human school by now, wouldn’t you?
> 
> This was an important chapter, I think, for the sake of what we should call a progress check. I remember one reviewer ask what Spyro and Cody think of each other at this point. They are supposed to be partners, but it is clear neither of them are eager to get close to each other. Stealth Elf is an observant character and has good judgment if Season 3 proved anything. Looking at things from her perspective might give a good idea as to where the two stand right now.
> 
> In the meantime, Spyro’s got a plan for escape. Is it a good one? Likely not.


	15. Food For Thought

A half-hour for lunchtime didn’t go as far as it used to, was the shared thought of the pair as they walked into the Academy cafeteria.

Sticking to the sight of his feet Cody steered clear of every dried drop of intelligible food or wet spot on the stone. Cadets filled the seats, most sullen as usual. For once, he could understand their issues with Spyro, as mean as it was to admit. He had his own tempest of thoughts on this new situation.

Just as the boy turned to his partner, Spyro had flown to the other side of the room and grabbed a table. Nearby cadets glared at the sight of him moving towards tables farther off. The dragon just shrugged.

Sighing he took the dragon’s cue and sat at another table in the corner, alone.

“Hey there, Cody!” Elf walked over waiting.

“Fancy seeing you here,” Eruptor joked. The lava creature had caught Spyro on the other end and dragged him over.

Cody huddled in and gave a nod acknowledging them. Looking over, he saw the dragon wink at him. He assumed that was a sign to keep their ‘talk’ on the down-low.

“No offense but we kind of thought you’d be an island’s length away from anyplace with more than two people,” Elf joked. “For once I’m glad to see we were wrong. So, how are you handling the rest of the Academy?”

“And more importantly, how are you handling this guy?” Eruptor pointed to the dragon stuck in his arm’s crook.

Keep quiet. Don’t disappoint Spyro.

“It’s been… a lot.”

“That may be the mildest description I’ve ever heard,” Spyro quipped.

“Well, better get used to it quick. When you’re a Skylander, life hits you hard and fast.” Elf collided her fists. “You got to be ready for anything… even a lack of food.”

That was an odd thing to say. This was a cafeteria, wasn’t it? Yet Cody could admit there was a lack of strength in the smell of food.

The events of the past few hours laid a blow to his appetite, so his stomach behaved keeping silent. Not that he could guess what such creatures ate either. Even then it was a shock that few cadets had full trays. They were just as aware as their forks and chairs scraped surfaces making him cringe. A few groups were having arm-wrestles or other contests to gauge the lucky Skylander to walk out of the door fed.

“Yeah, Skylanders don’t go saving the world on empty stomachs,” Eruptor said. “The Academy’s had a bit of a food shortage lately. Any more of this and I’ll be seeing lizard gizzards when I look at all the dragon cadets.”

“Another reason for me to slowly back away,” Spyro joked. Eruptor glared fixing him in place.

Cody turned to Elf. “Why doesn’t the Academy have food?”

“The Academy gets shipments from some of the local restaurants and stores in the area. The teachers rent themselves out for security detail in exchange. About a week ago, though, we started seeing smaller shipments. It wasn’t much at first, but now only a few cadets actually get something on their food trays.”

“The lamb chops were really popular, not to mention the fresh mutton,” Eruptor was drooling lava. “Add a little Eufirbia and a rock burger and you got yourself some culinary heaven…”

Rock burgers? Lizard gizzards? This was what was considered edible to Skylanders?

Still, it wasn’t far for hunger to make everyone even grumpier. His mother had always said to help others as best as one could and in any way one could. With a clenching chest at the memory, Cody rose a little too quick from his seat. “…Um. I-I have to use the… bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

With their nods and silent stares to bid him off, Cody walked off. He kept his head bowed and hands pocketed past all the cadets once more, turning back to the trio of cadets. Spyro and his backpack were the things that had his attention the most though. The door to the bathroom was ahead, but he took a left into the cafeteria kitchen instead.

Ironically the place where those bizarre meals Eruptor described was the cleanest place in the building. It was a picture-perfect forest of utensils and spare herbs and spices, their collective scents setting his nose on fire. A few spare vegetables in sacks were the closest things to actual food. Anything else was just washed out pots and pans begging to take part in the next culinary concoction for the starving students outside.

In the silent room, he finally had the time to gather his thoughts. Spyro’s offer, or rather his objective, to take on criminals even accomplished heroes had trouble defeating. His key role in that suicidal plan.

The stone in his pack was what made him a Portal Master, or so he was told. Even so, was that enough?

Lost in thoughts he looked back to his first talk with Master Eon. How it ended, what he’d said, how he didn’t belong. He was sure of what he’d said that time, but now he was needed. Looking to the cadets outside, he wondered if some random boy who came across a stone was really on their level. Did Spyro really think he could help with this? Then again, he didn’t have much of an option.

Help others as best as you can, whenever you can. His mother’s words came to him again.

Right. Do what he could.

Along with the sweet sound of her voice came another memory. His mother’s old recipe for chili, one that she always said could be made with anything. Only bits and pieces of their times cooking it together. He hadn’t made it in so long, not since she…

Cody rolled up his sleeves and picked up the largest pot among the bunch. Over an old stove, he tossed in coal and lit a match to light the fire in the hull. He grabbed as many vegetables as he could, along with whatever herbs smelled close enough. He threw them in the pot with a big splash of water.

Grabbing a handful of plants, he stared at the leaves beginning to burn in his hand. They fell in the pot and the boy scrambled to bring them out. Which ones worked as spices, and which ones were herbs? Which one added the right about of flavor? He looked to the pot and scooped out a potato he threw in earlier. Potatoes didn’t go into chili, right?

Most of the vegetables were wrong now that he thought about it. Maybe he wasn’t remembering as well as he thought. One tomato was soggy and splattered on his shoe. Cody sighed stirring the pot looking at the mess of a meal. It was always good enough, he recalled with stinging eyes. His mother always had that magic in her fingers that made the chili taste great no matter what. After all the times he made it with her.

“Well, well. Looks like someone’s going for hidden meals.”

Cody jumped. He turned to the head of the speaker, and that was all he saw. A head. A floating blue face with eerily glowing eyes, hair like blue seaweed and a pink bow. It was the sight to emerge out of a nightmare. 

“Um… I wasn’t trying to…,” he started. “T-This is for everybody.”

“Whoa, for reals? Well, aren’t you just totes sweet?” The head spoke. “So sweet it’s grody. Name’s Dreamcatcher.”

“Uh, hi.” Cody tried to turn to his cooking while giving her attention.

Dreamcatcher sniffed and spun back. “Ugh. Okay, for really real, if you wanna do something nice for everybody, throw that out. It smells worse than the normal lunch. And that is saying something.”

Cody blinked. “Is it… that bad?”

“Oh, well, like, don’t take my word for it. I don’t exactly have a stomach. But if I were you, I wouldn’t serve something that had everything but the kitchen sink tossed in. No biggie, though. I’m no expert on food, even if I’d take that over anything else here, but maybe there’s a good chance at least one serving of the stuff won’t give somebody an ulcer.” 

The boy’s mouth went dry, cheeks flushed. “This is… for everybody. I wouldn’t-“

“Sure, sure. And if a certain someone was smacking his lips, that’d make you feel totes good too, right?” Dreamcatcher hovered a little too close. Sweat trickled down his neck as the fire rose and she came close. They both looked to Spyro in the crowd. “The perfect Skylander deserves the perfect meal. Yet, here we both are looking at whatever this is.”

“I’m trying to help.”

“Doing what you can?”

How… did she know that? The boy’s head spun, eyelids drooping.

“You’re hardly scoring points serving slop. Portal Masters are, like, supposed to be great wizards, helping Skylanders and whatever. I mean, gotta ask, even if you didn’t poison everyone, what’s the end game here?”

“End game?”

“So you can toss stuff in a pot. Not like that makes you a big help to any of them.”

Cody turned to his work, the gunk bubbling with slimy pops. Maybe it was as bad as Dreamcatcher described; every ingredient now seemed wrong. He should have added more of that, or less of that other thing. He should have measured ingredients or looked up the plants. The contents began to spin in his view while the kitchen turned into a furnace.

“Well, what-evs. I’m sure Spyro the Great and the Skylands will make do with the new ‘head chef.’ I’ll be taking a nap and dreaming of impending doom… Nice chatting with you!”

Cody watched the head float out cackling with a mouth full of sand. His efforts seemed like such a waste now. A burning smell came to his nostrils like toxic waste. He startled and pulled the pot from the stove top. Wobbling with the weight and the light feeling in his head he set the pot down. The sludge inside bubbled and radiated heat. 

Once again, his efforts weren’t worth anything, He set the pot atop a wooden rolling tray by the door. He’d just have to pin his hopes on Dreamcatcher’s. Maybe one serving wouldn’t rot someone’s stomach.

* * *

Eruptor’s arm was feeling cold with how long Spyro’s head had been trapped in it, almost like the clamp of metal. There was a crick in his neck that wasn’t bound to go away soon either. Neither of his dorm-mates seem to notice staring at the cadets. Many were starting to puncture holes and gashes in the tables with the silverware.

“It’s like the whole Academy’s on edge,” Elf spoke. “And I don’t think it’s just got to do with a bunch of empty stomachs. Master Eon gave you guys the update too, right? About the Doom Raiders?”

Oh, yeah, really emphasized the ‘doom’ part,” Spyro shrugged. “They’re probably going to have some trouble catching them, though.”

Elf blinked and gave a curious stare. “Really? What makes you think so?”

“Oh, nothing! Just top-notch criminals, right?”

“Uh-uh, don’t start with this again.” Eruptor’s arm gave the stronger impression of choking him to death as he pulled him close. “Just a random question because you tend to be oh-so-open, but what were you and Cody talking about when Master Eon ran into you guys?”

“Master Eon told you we were talking?” Spyro’s eyes danced rolling around Eruptor’s. “That’s an invasion of privacy.”

“We all know what happens when you’re left alone. Spill!”

“Fine, we were chatting about the weather. My winning shot in the last Skyball game. Some of our favorite moments with Hugo’s irrational fear of sheep.”

The lava creature glowed with heat, flames emerging overhead. “Oh. Oh yeah. I see what this is, uh-huh. Cool to my heat. But this right here, this is how I know you got your claws crossed behind your back.”

Spyro blinked grinning at how he caught on. There was a patch of insight submerged in all that boiling magma.

“Eruptor, cool it.” Elf popped in calming her teammate.

“I ain’t cooling it! I ain’t ‘taking a chill pill’! I’m getting answers! I’m tired of this guy always zooming off with his name in smoke and leaving us to cover his messes!” He gave Spyro a hard shake. “And what about Code!? You thinking of making him the fall guy for your next ‘act of heroism’!?”

“Somebody should watch their temperature.” The dragon patted him slipping out of his grip at last. “And I was born for heroism, as I’ve so often been told. One good puff of flame and the only fall guys will be bad guys. Code can see how it’s done and take note as my personal chronicler. Now if you’ll excuse me, I should get him started.”

Spyro had always had a sense of the unexpected. In a sense to many, he was the unexpected. But Eruptor’s words as he jumped and crashed on the floor, he could never have imagined.

“GGRRRAAAAHHH!!” He unleashed an eruption from his forehead. “I WISH YOU WOULD’VE GOTTEN STUCK IN THAT OTHER WORLD FOR GOOD! WE’D FINALLY BE DONE WITH YOU AND YOUR STUCK-UP ATTITUDE!!!”

.

.

Spyro was dumbfounded. Steam rained over in silence.

“Eruptor!” Elf shouted first. “What is wrong with you!?”

“No kidding. I travel all the way to another world and do A Skylander’s job, and all I get is guff.”

The dragon swallowed, gulping back his wind and sense. He floated down with some air still out of his wings but stared the rock creature’s flaming glare with one of his own. “I’m just doing the job I’m meant to do, E. You got a problem with it? Take it up with Master Eon. At least he can see what nobody else around here is able to handle. That I’m ready.”

He couldn’t let them see the way his claws trembled. Master Eon, who raised him since he was an egg in the forest. Master Eon, who spent years filling him with thoughts of greatness and glory, telling him he was ‘special’, how being a heroic warrior was just embedded in him.

Over the years, he had proven as such. The best exam scores, highest marks on training, perfection on every assignment and exercise that had been thrown at him. Even a few awards and trophies for ‘Most Accomplished Student.’ He’d soon barely needed to lift a claw to get the same results. Stick yourself on a pedestal long enough and you stop seeing the bottom, even as others strain to see the top.

He could live with it, having the best view of what lied beyond. Every time Spyro looked in the mirror he was told to see a legend, and he could fly with unseen wings. He was special, he had to believe that.

From the looks on the other cadets’ faces and Eruptor’s own, no one else did. They wanted to tear those wings off.

“You know what? I got things to do – maybe I’ll hit the training arena since you think I need ‘improving’ so bad.”

“Oh, we are not done here!” The lava creature still had heat to spare.

“Please. We never even got started…”

Spyro was airborne and heading for the door. He didn’t spare another glance at the two growing farther away.

“Get back here, you scaly hot-air balloon!”

“Eruptor, for the last time, knock it off!” 

Eruptor’s stub glowed, bits of rock swirling at the tip. Despite the heat, blood ran ice-cold amongst the cadets who scrambled under tables. With a boom, a fireball was shot out.

* * *

The pot in Cody’s hands rammed open the door with its chef wobbling with the weight. The metal stung in his hands, and the scent left a lot to be desired. He looked out to the crowd of hungry mouths. Maybe empty stomachs would do something for their taste buds and make the experience more pleasant. Dreamcatcher’s words kept haunting him.

She might have just been mean for the sake of meanness. It couldn’t be as bad as the smell implied. The taste could make up for it.

The chili reflected an orange hue, heat rising rapidly. A fireball was coming.

Cody screamed.

His foot slipped. Chili was flying in the air. The next he knew, a crash was heard, an explosion behind, and his face and sweater felt burning and moist. His head throbbed rubbing the spoiled meal off his clothes as best he could.

It was only looking up he noticed the entire Academy staring at him once again.

Eyes of every color, shape, and size gazing, judging, and deeming what they saw… laughable. Snickers in ones and twos started at odd spots, then more came. Soon enough the whole room was laughing at his mess.

“Cody!” Elf appeared next to him pulling him up. “Are you okay? What happened?”

What happened was that his efforts had only made him a joke to everyone in the room. If he had been helpful in any way, it was as the school dunce meant to give everyone a laugh with the magic of utter incompetence. He truly was useless if he couldn’t even make a proper lunch let alone stain the floor with it. Even Spyro had already left the room unwilling to look at him.

“I…. should just go home…”

Cody dragged his hood up so no one could see his miserable face. He ran with lightning speed across the room grabbing his pack and ran the same speed out. He fumbled with the stone in his hand and gripped it with white fingers.

“I really am nothing.”

Before Elf and a much calmer Eruptor could do anything, he was already gone. The two only looked to each other, knowing a much bigger mess was caused than a pot of spilled chili.

And at the end of another table, a certain floating head was smirking.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That wraps this one up. A little on the shorter side, but this is a decent length for normal books.
> 
> I think this was important because though our main pair have a game plan, they are reminded of where they stand in their surroundings. The road to growth is never traveled lightly. The mission has become a lot more difficult. But next chapter, things will begin to pick up, with a couple of surprises too.


	16. No Turning Back

The lines of wood in the desk might well have been burned into his eyes as he slumped over the surface. They overlapped with the wood from his room's desk. Cody was starting to miss that simple table, let alone the entire room.

He missed the darkness, the silence, the space to be left alone with his thoughts. Now his ears were flooded with the shouts of other children on the playground for their 20-minute recess. A few weeks of the repetition of textbook and play into two schools had left him with no time to settle matters that screamed for a decision. Cody could only admit to those burning questions he wasn't the most decisive person in two worlds.

Spring had come in that time. The chill of winter still lingered but carried with it blossom petals the brightest shade of pink. Pollen in the air made him sneeze, but there was an almost sweet smell from flowers coming into bloom. Everything was damp from the previous night's rain, but it made the lawn and windowsills glisten.

The pale light hit his books and the open case of Traptanium crystals he still had. Cody had been spending little time around their sources. His own hands strayed from even touching either. If there was any decision involved, it was reflected in his limbs huddled into his chest wanting nothing of either.

Cody's thoughts drifted like the lone petal in the air landing on a red crystal, the magic swirling within still. He remembered glimpses of the moment when Chompy Mage was pulled in screaming towards the crystal, inside some magical space from which he had no escape. There were so many times he'd been told of the capabilities of Portal Masters, how even one could turn the tide of full-scale wars in the Skylands. Some of that must have gotten through to Spyro, else he wouldn't ask him for his help.

It was desperation, asking him for favors. If Spyro wanted to succeed, he shouldn't be involved. Yet for Spyro to succeed, he needed to be. He was like a lead weight of a requirement.

If only either of them had another option.

He should just return the crystals. Spyro was a stranger to disappointment, and maybe it was better that way.

A familiar, bubbly voice popped in. "Wht'cha doing?"

Cody yelped nearly falling over in his seat. With his grip on the desk he looked up into the giddy eyes and frizzled hair of Pablo, his guide from weeks ago.

The cheerful student looked to the case. "Look at that! Bonito! You got crystals? Where'd you get them? What are these funny faces? Where'd you find this awesome-looking case? I could use it for my homemade tacos! Do you wanna trade?"

Cody shit the lid and stuffed it back into his backpack as quick as he could. He cringed hearing papers crumple inside. "I-It's nothing. These are just… ornaments!"

"Ornaments? Do you use them for Navidad?" Pablo leaned in close. "You know, I once asked my abuela if we could use tamales as decorations for our tree and paint them with food coloring. Delicioso and bonito!"

Cody drawled with no possible response in mind.

He looked out the window to the children on the grounds. His eye caught the glimpse of a pink dress and the wearer that looked so familiar sitting at the base of a watching tree. A soft-spoken response from a near-perfect appearance and a stretched limousine left behind.

"That girl…"

Pablo's face smashed into his. "What girl? Do you mean that one from class with the braces and the snorting problem? Lindsey? Or maybe Emily or Courtney – she does a lot of cartwheels. Or maybe-"

"Uh, no. I meant by the tree."

Pablo leaned over. "Ooohhh, you mean Katelyn! By that I mean 'the fair, esteemed, and ever-radiant Ms. Katelyn Emeraude:' that's what Mallory and some of the boys call her. Her mom's the owner of this super big fashion empire with a big business hq and is involved with super-famous designers! So yeah, she's a rich heiress – kind of a big deal."

"She's wealthy?"

"Yeah, which explains the whole thing with the prez and the whole fancy-pants title. Probably thinking her mom would give some money to the school." The hyperactive boy hopped on a desk next to the quiet one. "There was all this talk about her being sent to some super fancy-pants private school. Our schools not really up to her standards, I guess. SO back to your funny sparkly-stone thingies-"

"Oh, I, uh… left something out on the playground." Cody scooped all his items into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. "I should… go get it. I'll… see you later?"

"Sure! I mean, it's not like you're going anywhere!"

Cody knew that all too well, not matter how much he wanted to believe the opposite. He left the laughing boy alone and slid out a side door to the side of the building. He wanted to deal with as few people as possible.

There was the playground, with kids running all over equipment, playing basketball, and running on the fields like ants swarming a picnic. Cody moved slinking between shadows and ducking behind bushes, keeping distance even from the sounds of laughter all over. A child ran through every so often, leaving the boy to dodge bouncing balls or jump at the swing of jump ropes. He backed away to a tree where he was sure no random child could come out and surprise him.

"Excuse me?" The familiar question in that familiar voice spoke.

Cody turned to see the brunette-haired girl looking from around the very tree he was looking for. Even so, it took him more than a few moments for his mind to catch up.

"Oh! Um…"

The girl tilted her head. "You're the boy from a few weeks ago, if I recall."

"Yeah… sorry for bugging you."

There was a minute or two where the only conversation came from the tree raining down blossoms. One sat, the other stood, their eyes darting every which way. One scratched his arm, the other checked for any ruffles of her dress or hair. Cody didn't even know what his purpose was in coming to see this girl. Whatever it was, it might have just been wasted.

The girl pulled her phone from a pack on her belt. Looking at the screen she blinked and rushed around the tree. "Well, it was nice to meet with you, but I have a previous engagement. I must be going now."

"Wait, wh-"

Cody didn't mistake the sight of another limousine, as black and polished as before, pulling by the school. No one ever mistook something like that happening. Katelyn was just as surprised, but much less pleased.

A group of men in suits emerged from the doors. They marched like robots, mechanically taking steps, their eyes shaded by sunglasses. In a perfect row they came up to the girl and surrounded her. Cody ducked behind the tree praying he went unnoticed. Maybe because of how cowardly it felt, he leaned over to watch the exchange.

"Ms. Emeraude, we've been sent for you. Your mother has given explicit instructions to take you home." The first man spoke. "Please come with us."

"But I still have school." The girl spoke meekly.

"We have already informed the school beforehand," a second man added. "Your mother asked us to inform you that this is an important matter regarding your future."

"I can't-"

"This is not up for debate, Ms. Emeraude," came the third man. "Your mother's orders. Please come with us.

They marched as one unit like a wall closing in on her. The girl couldn't help the step back. She looked for any escape and for the briefest second, her eyes turned to him.

Cody couldn't believe what he'd done next. Though he should have from the last time.

He grabbed her hand in his and ran leading her away. They cut through the swarm of kids leaving the suitors behind amid an energetic basketball game on one of the courts. They tried to shove past some children only to trip into others. They grew farther away blending into gathering kids and plants as the two runaways passed an old rickety gate.

The nature area for the school, a place to learn about the local plant life donated from those who had no place for sparse trees or flowers. Many generous donations had been made as the path was nearly lost in brambles and overgrowths of plants and ivy. Their feet kicked up dried leaves and petals as they delved deeper into the wood.

Cody was already out of breath as they reached a clearing surrounded by bushes. The cry of their pursuers sent a jolt through him and he pulled them both down. The girl's hand was wrenched from his cold palm.

"Enough!" Katelyn yelped. "What were you thinking back there!?"

Cody backed away as his rescue turned to interrogation. "I… Y-You just… you didn't… who were those guys?"

"It's none of your concern," the heiress spoke. She brushed her hair and unruffled her dress to reach her perfect appearance as best she could. "You shouldn't have gotten yourself involved. Now mother will be furious…"

"…You didn't seem like you wanted to go."

If there was one thing Cody could relate to, it was that. Amid so many who were ready to burn down their chains and the cell they were held in, for once there was someone who was happy where they were. He missed those old comforts in his room, growing blurrier in his memories as time went on. Through his words, the girl before him turned into the person he saw that convinced him to reach out his hand.

"Mother knows what is best for me. It was no mystery what she wanted to talk to me about. The time for me to enroll in one of her listed prestigious boarding schools and finding a proper suitor for the day I inherit the company." She didn't turn to show her face. Not that Cody couldn't guess from her far softer tone. "Talk of the future of the Emeraude name."

"Oh…"

The bushes cracked.

Both children yelped. The leaves in the bushes rustled and rocked. Something was hiding within and drawing closer by the minute.

"They're coming." Katelyn whispered in distress.

He wished she didn't say that – it only increased the tension in the air to where breathing was like swallowing spikes. Running any further into the forest would only get them hopelessly lost and possibly injured. There was only one way out, and Cody knew it.

Cody crawled and took Katelyn's hand. To both their surprise, he looked her dead in the eye. "Okay… I'm about to do something drastic and crazy and just really kind of unbelievable and it might freak you out. Do you trust me?"

"What are you-"

"I really need you to trust me and stay close!"

The girl blinked, as did he. He'd nearly ripped out his own tonsils for that volume – his voice even cracked somewhat. But what happened next surprised him even more. "… Okay."

The shadow frim the bushes took a shape, staring at them with almost glowing eyes. It leaped, ready to strike. Both children screamed. Cody reached for his pocket and pulled out the stone which exploded with light. Leaves and blossoms swirled in a wild wind as the glow burned and expanded.

The flash settled, and the leaves were released from the hold of magic. They fluttered to the ground alone. All three were gone.

.

Their feet touched solid ground again, though the crunch of leaves was quickly replaced with the thunk of wood. Sunlight tore open their eyes as both stood at the gate to the Academy. A training ground for heroes seemed like the safest place one could be at any time. But with cadets roaming and soaring over the grounds he'd picked a terrible time to appear with another human.

He'd remembered his panic from when he'd first arrived in the Skylands. Wide eyes, pale skin, shortness of breath. It was the exact same face on the girl next to him. Stumbling without any trace of composure for a girl of her status, her head tore itself to the overload of sights at every turn.

"W-What is going on!? What is this place?" She near shrieked.

"I-It's alright. Everything's going to be okay. Just calm down…"

"How can you expect me to be calm!?" Skylanders were looking at them now. One human drew enough attention, but two was a show. "Where have you taken me? What are those things!?"

"I don't know, but they look muy genial to me!"

Both jumped at the giddy voice. Pablo was right next to them, that frizzy hair and taco shirt were unmistakable.

"Wait, you?" Cody blinked. "What? H-how did you get here? I thought you were still at school!"

"I was, and I was just about to enjoy the enchiladas my abuela and I packed for lunch but then I saw you go over to Katelyn and I thought you were going to invite her for lunch. So I decided I'd beat you to the punch and we'd all have a punch lunch super-duper fiesta! But then you started playing that fun game!"

"Game? What game?" Katelyn asked.

"Uh, the 'run from scary guys in black suits into the forest and work up your appetite' game! I didn't have a black suit or sunglasses, but I thought I'd join in and surprise you." Pablo hopped on the stone rail. "Guess I was the one who got surprised. You really know how to pick a great spot for lunch time!"

"You mean it was you in the bushes?" Cody asked.

"Yep!"

Katelyn marched up and pulled him by the wrist towards her. "This is not a game or a meal! Have you not noticed we are in some kind of alternate dimension?" She turned to Cody, somehow still graceful in her heel-turn of fury. "Will you kindly explain to us where we are and, more importantly, how to return to where we were!"

Cody wished he had an answer for her, and in the back of his head, he knew he did. But this thoughts were trapped, bound around the simple fact of the planet-sized mistake he had made. They were never in danger, they were under threat by some hyperactive boy with a massive stomach, and yet he'd warped two random children to the Skylands. No one said it was against the rules, though keeping an entire world secret should have been hard.

How could he fail so incredibly? He couldn't tell them what was happening. The list of failures was long enough without confessing everything and run the risk of more people knowing. His foot shuffled back a step as they closed in waiting for explanations he couldn't give.

"Yo, Code!" The voice of Spyro called from overhead. "Little early to be slapping the ball and chain back on, don't'cha think?"

The other kids gasped. To think he believed the situation could not get worse.

"Oh, hey. Found some new kids to pal around with. Cute, but on your own time." His scaled claw pulled the boy around. "Anyhoo, earlier the better. I got us some good intel for our first mission."

"Uh, Spyro…"

"I've been doing a little scoping out, gathering some intel. You know, covert hero stuff," he looked proud with that claim. "And I found some place in town that's got something shady going on. Sounds like a good place to see if evil's slinking through the cracks."

"T-T-That's a…" Katelyn pointed a shaky finger. "T-Tha-That's a d-d-dr-dra-"

"Es un dragón! Y está hablando! Y es morado! This is crazier than quinoa pizza!" Pablo shouted.

Trading glances between the three, Cody went to his partner. "Spyro, um… I kind of, sort of, have something else to deal with here. They're not exactly… that is…"

"What, your new pals? Eh, they'll be fine. They're in the safest place they could possibly be! Good instincts!"

At least he and Spyro could agree that here they were safe from the dangers of a world they knew nothing about. Then again, Chompy Mage was able to invade the Academy despite the claim of the pearly white walls being sanctuary. If nothing else, they ran the risk of losing their minds the longer they went unattended. "Well…"

"No time for talk, duty calls!" Spyro hefted him by the shoulders and took to the air. "Nice meeting you, random kids!"

"Wait!" Katelyn called. "Where are you going!?"

"We'll be right back!"

Spyro clearly wasn't used to added weight when he flew. Despite that, the two of them were gone in the blink of an eye. A twinkle in midday marked where they were last seen. The two new arrivals were completely alone.

"Well," Pablo spoke. "Like my abuela always said! When you're in an alternate world, always trust the first dragon you see after he carries off a kid!"

"… Your abuela always said that?"

"Yeah, haha… She was weird!"

* * *

"Alright, get ready, kid. Our mission begins here." The dragon spoke at the edge of a stone dock at the end of the campus town.

The Tasty Zeppelin, an old airship remodeled into a restaurant with a motto matching its old flying days, 'food that will make your taste buds soar.' The massive blimp was chained to the road with anchors that still gleamed a bronze glow like new, as the pant job held elegant patters and swirls. It was the ideal place for the Skylands' elite to dine, despite its criminal origins. Not to mention the five-alarm fire scent that came into Spyro's nostrils.

Sneezing it away with a puff of flame, he spoke. "Something shady's been doing on around here."

"What do you mean?"

"You heard about our food shortage at the Academy, right? Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but this is one of the places where we're supposed to get our shipments. It wasn't too long ago that those shipments went dry, nothing coming in at all."

"Maybe they've just had a lot of trouble with customers. A lot of people come to eat here…"

"You'd think, but they haven't been accepting customers for weeks now. Our guys have been asking questions to figure out what's going on but the cooks and owners aren't squealing. Methinks there's a mystery afoot!"

If there was any time to tell the truth, about the kids and the Traptanium, it was now. Before they walked into what may well be a dragon's den. "Spyro, I need to tell you-"

"Time for talk is over. There's butts that need kicking!"

"But… we, I…. this is important."

Spyro shook him by the shoulders, burning his voice away. "Look, we already had this pep talk. This is what's going to get us both out of here. Now put on your big boy britches, toughen up, and let's bust out some sweet justice!"

"You're the only one who's getting busted."

Both cringed as though they'd been stabbed. They turned slowly fighting the urge to raise their hands like they were the criminals. There were the two kids that Cody had brought along and it seems they'd made new friends. With them were two faces he'd preferred to wait a good while before seeing again. Stealth Elf and Eruptor

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay that wraps this one up. I am a little disappointed, because I was hoping to get two chapters done this week to shorten my schedule. Maybe next week I'll be able to pull that off.
> 
> The truth is I have set a much bigger goal for myself. Next year I am considering finally writing my own original work. My progress was likely stopped because I was brainstorming and coming up with ideas for my new stuff. Some parts are a little cliché, but I am continuing to draw inspiration. I'll see about letting certain ideas marinate over time, because right now I am considering ideas related to worldbuilding. I'll probably tackle other areas too in the meantime.
> 
> Anyway, our heroes are in hot water, from two new faces in the Skylands to two familiar faces staring them down. First day on the job and they're already caught. They're not very good at stealth. But by now I think any real Skylanders fans know who's coming up.


	17. Taste of Trouble

Of all the possible things that could have gone wrong, of anything that could have happened at all, this. He had to have been cursed somehow.

Stealth Elf and Eruptor were there with gazes that could have melted steel and froze fire. The dragon felt those familiar chains shackling him to the ground but held it fast. He may have been caught but he wasn’t about to back down and leave them with satisfaction red-handed. He wouldn’t even let them have the thought of success.

He gave that old, charismatic smile. “Yo, Elf, Big E! Fancy meeting you guys here! I was taking Cody out for a bite, maybe make up for that tour business a while back.”

“Drop the act, Spyro.” Stealth Elf said. “We know you’ve been looking into this place hoping to find the Doom Raiders.”

“Yeah, you’re not here for steak. You’re here for a steak out!” Eruptor added.

“What!? I am shocked that you would point your fingers/stubs at me over something like that. You got any proof?”

“How about the piles of paper clippings and photos in your room? I know because you snatched them out of my room!”

“So those were yours?” Spyro mused. “Hm, hello pot, meet my pal kettle.”

Elf groaned. “Aside from that, do either of you want to tell me how two more humans got here? We saw them hanging around the front of the Academy and they told us you two flew off to Ancients know where. I don’t know if I’d just call it a lucky guess or predictable that I figured you were here!”

“It’s my fault…” Cody confessed. Though really, who else could it have been?

Cody explained the situation of the two new humans, how good intentions led to what was in the kindest terms, a disaster. Spyro had to admit, it was gutsy of the kid to make a move to rescue the princess from her own bodyguards, if not a little misinformed. A true fighter trusted his instincts, a lesson of Eon’s he admitted he could get into his head. There might have been a rebel’s soul in that timid seashell after all.

Elf and Eruptor’s sympathetic looks rubbed him the wrong way, though. The other children turned more sympathetic looks towards him as well. One ashamed look and everyone in the Skylands could give him a free pass. No one gave him that sort of kindness after he’d gotten his claws dirty, he vented with steam from his nostrils.

Eruptor turned to Spyro with cracks in his rock body simmering. “Well, at least one of you has the stones to fess up.”

Spyro growled. With a burst of his wings he flew off into an open window of the restaurant. He spared no word or glance for anyone in the group.

“Spyro!” Elf cried. “Oh, come on!”

“Cody, a word of advice – you need to keep that dragon on a tight leash.” Eruptor pointed. “By some miracle, he’ll stop flirting with his own reflection and listen to you!” 

“…It’s fine.” Cody said sullen. “We’re just… doing what we need to.”

* * *

The room was hot, with air screaming for escape. The only light was from the dim cauldrons of vile gruel lit by the concentrated flames beneath the grated floor. Pepper Jack stirred the ladle of one pot, turning the slop and abundance of peppers, berries, vegetables, and whatever else he had thrown in. He wafted his mitted hand over the cauldron, taking in the aroma of his concoction and exhaled in pride.

Kaos wandered over and did the same, but nearly choked on the smell. Glumshanks was the wiser and stood by. “A… scrumptious serving as always, Chef Pepper Jack.”

The pepper-headed chef threw a handful of items into the bowl and stirred on as the food bubbled. “See here boy, I don’t need no third-rate critique from some third-rate villain like yourself. My dish is magnifique!”

“Heh, of course… I just wondered if I could trouble you for a taste?”

“You keep interrupting me and you gonna get a good mouthful,” he gave Kaos the evil eye. “This here recipe is gon’ give a good handful o’ Skylanders tummy troubles like they ain’t never got before!”

“I myself could go without, as described, tummy troubles.” Glumshanks pointed. “My palate is preferential to the finer cuisine in life if I may so boldly insist.”

“Keep talking, troll, and you’re going in the pot. I hear trolls are a delicacy in certain parts of the Skylands.”

Kaos pushed Glumshanks off the rails and into the fire. The troll’s screams echoed throughout the dimly-lit kitchen. “Anyhoo, Chef. You’ve been running this little incognito cooking operation for a while now. It won’t be long before the Skylanders get suspicious and send a team to investigate. So, if I could offer a hand to maybe speed this along.”

“You wanna lend a hand?” Pepper Jack growled. “Just put it on the board and I’ll hack it right in. Make my time-bomb chili good and rancid. You wanna keep your hand? Stop yakking and let me finish my meal!”

“Uh…” Kaos had paled clutching his hand. “Of course, Chef. I’ll leave you to finish your… dish.” 

The evil Portal Master backed away, his robe melting into the shadows of the background as if returning there. He moved around the corner, out of sight from the Doom Raider, though he wouldn’t have noticed. Glumshanks, his green skin burnt to a crisp and hairs still aflame, was there at his side.

“Well, this is all going, dare I say it, delicious, Glummy!” Kaos tapped his fingers. “Pepper Jack won’t let us assist, but at the very least, he will be assisting me.”

“Wonderful, sir… my stomach aches with anticipation. Or something in me aches.” 

It wasn’t seen in the dark when he pulled it from his robe, but the spell book appeared within the dark when it glowed a dark red. The glow wavered, almost with a hunger of its own. It would be fed soon enough.

* * *

Inside the zeppelin was a blaze of light and high-temperature, danger never having dressed so elegant. Pepper-shaped bulbs along the red velvet walls and pepper chandeliers gave the impression of the room being on fire. Pipes and vents along the room were made décor when wrapped in vines of spicy-scented wildflowers. The view of a thousand-foot drop into oblivion was stunning. Spyro had to admit, villainy never had style on this level.

Even the other kids were impressed. The girl in the fancy dress stepped forward with her head somewhat back on straight. “…I have to admit, the ambiance here is impressive. It reminds me of the restaurants mother takes us for lunch.”

“It’s fancy-shmancy! Let’s get lunch!” The frizzy-haired kid spoke.

Compared to the Academy’s slop it would have been nice to eat something his stomach could process. Yet the room was abandoned, or so it looked. The hiss of steam and rumblings from the kitchen suggested otherwise.

The group walked past the sheeted tables towards the double doors of the kitchen. “Something’s not right.” Elf said. “Is anyone here?”

A head popped out from the window by the doors. Everyone jumped, and the head did the same. 

“Okay, not what I’d consider a usual reaction to customers…” Spyro muttered.

All at once the tables flipped over and Greebles emerged like frogs from the muck. The girl screamed and tripped over herself, while the frizzy kid went down in the opposite direction. The other Skylanders went to action and guarded them at both sides, Cody doing his best in following.

“Great! Two seconds with the flying hero-complex and we get ambushed by Greebles! What an afternoon!” Eruptor moaned.

“No time for griping!” Elf spun her blades. “Remember your training!”

“Training?” Cody gulped. “What training? I don’t have any training!”

“Just do what you did before and cover us with your shields. On my signal we move – ready and-“

The room exploded in orange fire before Elf’s reflexes could trigger. Spyro’s stream of fire was burning the velvet and Greebles’ skins black. The dragon took in a healthy breath as their would-be attackers hopped away on any limbs that had survived the torrent of fire. He expected impressed fawning for his two-second victory; that wasn’t what he got.

Cody rubbed his sleeve helping his human classmates to their feet. “Well… at least the Greebles are taken care of…” 

“You’re welcome!”

Elf face-palmed. “Moving on, it’s pretty obvious there’s something going on – this place has a pretty serious ‘No Greebles’ policy. We should check to see if the chefs are okay.”

Stepping through the doors, it was clear to see Stealth Elf’s concern. The kitchen yanked away the sheen of the dining hall and gave the impression of some factory for hazardous waste. The chefs, sweating in their unwashed smocks poured spices into bowls of something that glowed with the hue of toxic. Pipes and valves oozed waste that ate holes in the floor. The team stayed clear as the chefs rushed like rats for fear their food could eat through skin and scale.

The frizzy kid, Pablo as Cody called him, took a whiff of the bowl as it rushed past. The effect was instantaneous. He choked and gagged gasping for air as he hit the wall like he had went through an ulcer and a heart attack all in one. Even the smell of that stuff was deadly.

“What…” he coughed with teary eyes. “What is that stuff!? Is it even legal to classify it as food!? What kind of… sick monster… would do this to an innocent… bowl of… CHILI!!”

“CHILI!?” Everyone yelled.

“Hold on there, kiddo. You’re telling me that stuff is supposed to be chili!?” Eruptor gasped in a similar level of shock.

“Qui…” a Mabu chef in the corner whimpered. “It is Master Pepper Jack’s secret recipe.”

“So I was right!” Spyro cheered for himself with a pound of his fists. “Pepper Jack is behind this!”

“Yeah, you figured it out with my research,” Elf spoke. “So really, you could say I was right.”

“This zeppelin used to belong to Master Pepper Jack, back when he first cooked for the joy of cooking.” The Mabu explained. “We should have guessed he would come to reclaim it after he turned to evil and became one of the Doom Raiders. He came to us weeks ago and locked us away here in the kitchen, forcing us to complete his ultimate recipe to destroy the Skylanders…”

“That demonio!” Pablo grabbed the Mabu by the shoulders shocking him stiff. “I can’t forgive anyone who uses food as a weapon!”

“Pablo.” Cody held him back and turned to the Mabu. “What is this recipe he’s forcing you to make?”

“He calls it his Phoenix Bomb Chili, made from the eggs of the Phoenix Chicken only laid once a year. He plans to use it to render the Skylanders helpless, destroying them from the inside-out.”

“Not if this Skylander can help it!” Spyro took to the air. “Time for Chef Pepper Jack to get a nice hot serving of justice!”

“I hate to let a good serving of justice go cold – I mean seriously, cold food is a crime against nature!” Eruptor dragged him down by the tail. “But in case you haven’t noticed we got a kitchen full of Mabu chefs we got to help before we make the oh-so-smart decision of fighting another Doom Raider. And that didn’t go so well the first time if you recall!”

“Sure, it did. I mean, yeah, was a little touch and go for a second there but I just chalk that up to a little loss of mojo. I got everything handled here, right Code?”

Cody snapped to attention wavering glances between Spyro and the floor. “Uh… yeah. It’s fine…”

“See? No worries!”

“Cody, are you seriously gonna let this scaly hot air balloon walk all over you!?” Eruptor growled at the boy who started to go pale. “We nearly got our magma spewed out! I’d rather not let it happen again!”

“I-It’s okay. Spyro… doesn’t need my-our, our help. He doesn’t need help from…”

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I have to agree with the… rock creature,” Katelyn walked up to him. What was with everybody doubting his capability? At least Cody could set them straight, though he was running out of words to do it with, from the looks of things.

“Eruptor’s right, it was dangerous. Maybe if we had just… left it to Spyro in the first place….”

“He’d be Chompy feed!” Eruptor shouted.

“More like his Chompies would have been kindling!” The dragon countered. “Like I said, mojo counts for everything.”

“The boy who tried to help me escape my suitors because he thought I was in danger didn’t leave it to someone else.” Katelyn walked up to the boy. “It didn’t work out, but your intentions were clearly good. I won’t pretend to understand what’s going on. However, your friend here really does need help, and you can’t just let him fly into some insane villain’s clutches with your only confidence on his word.”

Cody tried to spit something out; Spyro hoped he would. At least someone here shouldn’t have to doubt him. Instead the boy’s throat had gone dry with no defense left. Spyro scoffed.

“Great, I’m being dissed by humans now. Fine, I’ll just have to give a little demonstration!” The dragon flew out the doors into the hall. “One Doom Raider, hold the mustard!”

Cody took steps after him but stopped at the entrance. Again, he had nothing to say.

“That cocky, stuck-up, self-obsessed scale bag!!” Eruptor blew a fountain of lava overhead. “Code, I’m pretty sure when Master Eon stuck you two together it was so you could give that guy a much-needed wake -up slap! For once I just wish somebody would drag him by the horn and stop him from kissing his own butt!”

“Not how I would have put it, but Eruptor does have a point Cody.” Elf’s hand touched the boy’s shoulder as he looked ready to cry. “Spyro’s going to need you to reign in his worst instincts. That’s part of what a friend is supposed to do.” 

Cody only huddled further into himself. “… There’s nothing I can do.”

* * *

The hallway with cooks trudging in chains was just another obstacle course. Dodging past them was second nature, so Spyro didn’t need to worry. Defeating their captor would be rescue enough.

He reached the end of the hall with door opening to the main kitchen. The stove grids were so large a plate to fit them would be enough to feed an entire island. Flame and heat erupted from beneath enough to give his scales the feel of melting over one another. The chili looked closer to magma as it drooled from vats along the walls into the blazing pits below. Sparks stung at his eyes as they exploded into life as though something would crawl from the pot.

“Gah!” Spyro choked with a newfound sympathy over Pablo’s reaction. “That is… yep. That’s a visual to give you stomach cramps…”

“Bah! Y’all just can’t tell good cookin’ when y’all sees it!”

The Doom Raider stomped out stroking his stem beard with a mitted hand. He waved the ladle in his other towards the dragon. “Not one Skylander’s ever turned down chili, ‘specially my chili!”

“Pepper Jack chili good!”

Both turned to the bubbling blob with a mouth and crown in the corner. By some mystery, the heat didn’t faze him as he swallowed a bowl of chili and a bottle of soda to join the apparent other twenty. He kept his crown straight as the straw for the bottle went in between his gapped teeth.

“Seriously!? Gulper too?” Spyro yelled.

“Gulper here’s just around for a taste of the good life. You know, boy, people used ta come from miles and miles to get a taste of my cookin.’ You Skylanders think you got taste buds too good for my gruel?”

“The only thing that’s leaving a good taste in my mouth is two Doom Raiders for the price of one!”

Spyro charged spiraling with a barrage of fireballs. Pepper Jack reached for his pack, revealing or almost materializing a missile launcher. It fired peppers towards the fireballs, detonating in bursts that shook the room. The dragon arced wide though still was knocked back by the force of the bombs.

He wavered in air but steadied himself with another blast of fire. The chef’s launcher swung with an arc of pepper blasts resulting in the same. Spyro was flung back to burning metal as his feet touched the grates.

“Release the chili!”

Giant bowls with a sinister steam came out of the shadows. With the chef’s signal they tipped over with falls of poisoned chili into a large vat behind the Doom Raider. It was far worse than the last batch as the stench made Spyro want to rip his own nostrils out. Pepper Jack had found his opening; with his launcher hooked up he fired a stream of chili.

Straight into the dragon’s mouth.

It felt like acid was burning at his insides, his bones and intestines corroding. His stomach endured rammings front and back with the weight of an exploding airship. His systems failing, the dragon coughed and gagged as the chili dripped from his mouth. He tipped over with coughs more violent, writhing in pain, unleashing fire at every wheeze. Each blast it the walls, floors, and ceiling with no control and force like dynamite.

In his darkening vision he caught the others reaching the entrance to see him in his sorry state.

“Spyro!” Someone cried, though he couldn’t tell the voice.

“Well, well. Looks like we got more customers!” Pepper Jack gloated. “Bon Appetit, Skylanders!”

“Villainy’s not on the menu, freak!” Eruptor cried. The two combatants fired magma and chili, the blasts colliding in flame and smoke.

“Spyro!” The dragon heard Cody’s voice over his curled-up form. His soft touch smoothed his scales and a purple light formed as Cody triggered his shield. He turned to the other humans who gaped at his use of magic. “You guys need to stay back. It’s too dangerous to be in here right now.”

Pablo was the first to shake out of his stupor. “No way am I going to let this monstroso get away with using cooking to hurt people! That goes against Pablo’s Ten Commandments of Cooking!”

He marched forward, but Katelyn pulled him back. “Are you crazy!? There’s nothing we can do here!” 

“This is my fault…” Cody muttered. “I brought you two here. How could I possibly think this place was safe – if anything it’s worse! I’ve ruined everything again…

Peppers rained from above blinking. Stealth Elf leapt and sliced three open, warping away before they could burst. Eruptor followed suit with fireballs colliding with pinpoint marks. Any left his Cody’s shield, the boy’s hand trembling with the shocks. The kids ducked back as it closed in, but with heavy breaths Cody kept it still.

The pepper onslaught came in double. Cody raised his other hand expanding his barrier, explosions racking it like an upset stomach at every other second.

“You heard the Portal Master!” Eruptor shouted. “You guys got to get out of here!”

“Abule always says cooking comes from the heart, but all your chili does is give people heart attacks!” Pablo yelled up towards Pepper Jack. “How can you call yourself a chef if you serve food that has no pasión, no corazón, no flippity floppin’ taste!”

“Ha! My chili don’t need none of that junk!” Pepper Jack cackled. “I just need food to get me what I want, an’ that’s these Skylanders and their little Academy wiped off the map!”

“If that’s the case, then… your cooking is absolutely, totally, positively, undeniably, for sure 100% with all truth and factual evidence that can possibly exist in the universe since the dawn and until the end of time… YUCKY!!!”

“Wha…!?”

That had gotten the Doom Raider off guard. Any chef, on Earth or in the Skylands, probably had pride in their craft. To hear his food dismissed so mercilessly, if not childishly, was like a slap to the face. Pepper Jack trembled in rage, his scowl tearing his large head as he pointed his bazooka steaming and locked onto the frizzy-haired boy.

“You got some big mouth, boy!” Pepper Jack yelled. “You just keep it open wide, so’s I can stuff it full o’ peppers!”

“Kid, look out!” Eruptor yelled.

The launcher boomed, a single pepper hurtling towards them with the force of a meteor. Pablo rushed out of the safe zone locked on the projectile. In near slow-motion he took a leap.

“For love, justice, honor… and GUACAMOLE!!!”

The pepper landed in his mouth. And he swallowed. The blast shook the very room. 

“PABLO!!!” Cody cried.

For a few moments that stretched with ache, there was silence. Smoke covered the room with no sign of the frizzy-haired boy who had by all appearances been blown to pieces. The Skylanders and humans stared in horror waiting for the sight. But to everyone’s surprise, a flash of red appeared. More and more, the flashes swirled with hyperactive energy.

The dust had settled, and there was Pablo, still intact. His body and hands were lit with a blaze of red light. There was no explanation other than… magic.


	18. Taking A Stand

A crimson, human-shaped glow stood between the Skylanders and Portal Masters. Both sides stared on in shock. The same goofy boy who couldn’t stop going on about food, awakened to magic.

 

“Leeet’s get COOKING!”

Pablo snapped his fingers in a rhythmic beat. Sparks of light came from his fingers, doubling with every snap. In time with the beat came pops of small fireworks bursting on the floor. The Doom Raider danced around them with no sense of what came next. A large blast came between his feet sending him flying.

Cody gaped, without words not for the first time in this world. Pablo was a Portal Master, he’d cast magic that fended back a Doom Raider – there was no wrapping his head around it no matter how many times he’d tried to process it with the existence of his own magic. Eon had told him it was anyone’s guess as to what made a Portal Master. A strong sense of justice or passion for something they treasured if they’d even had the potential to start. 

Pablo was deeply angered by Pepper Jack’s use of food. Somewhere past all that spicy energy and large appetite was an honest love for cooking. Something strong enough to make him put his foot down at the dark side.

The feeling of scales shifted between his hands. Spyro, still weak and in his arms, shifted and groaned. 

Katelyn, in the corner, was just as in shock. “You’re some kind of wizard as well? H-How is this happening?”

Pablo slipped back to his silly self in an instant. “Hm, I dunno? All I remember is I swallowed a reeeaaally spicy chili pepper and then BAM! Super Pablo al rescate!”

“Oh, you best save your fancy words for dinner, boy!” Pepper Jack was up and aiming his launcher right at the boy. “An’ you an’ your Skylander chums are the main course!”

The peppers came out like rockets burning from the stems, their tips aimed right at Pablo.

“Don’t go serving that weak sauce!”

Eruptor leapt into action and countered with his own volley of fireballs. The ceiling became lit with the explosive collisions and rain of embers afterward.

The rock creature turned to Pablo. “Hey, kid! Feel like dishin’ out some real justice. Let’s show ol’ Pepper Jack how to really bring the heat!”

“I like the way you think you big ol’ whatever the heck you are!” 

Pepper Jack launched himself back to his kitchen and swiped his shelves bare of their contents. He jammed them into the butt of his launcher and fired back out. It was a firestorm of spicy foods: peppers, dumpling, chicken wings, curry bombs, hot and bursting into flame the moment they touched air. Touching ground caused complete incineration in a messy blast of spice and sparks.

The two gave a near perfect response as their timed attacks released a fiery burst that knocked out the first wave. Their attacks spread, fireballs and fireworks knocking each attack out. Their force shook the room leaving the others balancing over the grates and ducking for cover. It was a great display of force but the control of it all was in question.

It nonetheless did the job as Pepper Jack’s attacks went on with the same result. A fire spell reducing them to ash before even making the journey down. 

Spyro’s wings were already in motion in Cody’s weakening grasp. “All right, break time’s over. I’m the one who should be starting firework shows.”

“Wait, you can’t!”

“You know, I’m getting a little tired of people saying that to me.” The dragon shot him a glare.

“Well this time, we seriously mean it,” Elf spoke from their sides. “That chili did a number on your insides, so unless we want to see what a second dosage might do, you better stay down.”

“We shouldn’t have come here, Spyro.” Cody muttered. He knew as much all along but said nothing. Stealth Elf and Eruptor cautioned him as much but he was useless even in that regard. The numbness in his limbs allowed the dragon to snake free from him, giving the boy a good look at his partner’s angry face. “This is just… beyond us.”

“Beyond you, probably. But it’s gonna take more than some overgrown weed and his acid chili to keep this Skylander down.”

“Stealth Elf and Eruptor were right, we were lucky with Chompy Mage. We can’t push our luck like that again.”

“I don’t need luck. All I need’s one good shot!”

“Do you want me to say it? Fine! I can’t do this!”

“I can do this, so let me-“

“WILL YOU SHUT YOUR STINKING SNOUT!!!” Spyro turned and came face to heat with a burst of lava sending him into the wall. He survived, though his scales were hissing with steam and smoke. The source, Eruptor, was near blinding with the surge of light from between his cracks. All Cody and Elf could see was a twitching eye and a jaw ready to tear the dragon’s head off.

“YOU AIN’T PULLING ANY MORE HALF-BRAINED MOVES! YOU’RE GONNA SIT THERE AND KEEP YOUR WINGS DOWN AND YOUR YAP SHUT! OR SO HELP ME, I WILL BLAST YOU INTO NEXT SEMESTER’S FIRST ERUPTION! YOU GOT THAT!!?”

Spyro coughed and spit out a wad of magma. “Uh… gotcha…”

Katelyn blinked from the corner. “That might have been a tad… excessive.”

“Forget that!” Eruptor turned to the shaking boy huddled into himself. “So what’s the plan. Cody?”

“The… plan?”

“Look it was your plan that scored us the win against that freak Chompy Mage. You gotta have something that’ll help us beat Pepper Jack too!”

“I-I don’t…”

“Yes you do!” Elf piped up next to him. “Look, Master Eon chose you for a reason! It’s time you stopped telling yourself you can’t and start telling yourself you can!”

Do what you can… his mother’s words came to him again. It was a blast of cold lightning that brought his grounded limbs to life. He faced forward, eyes darting, looking for something. 

“I hate to break up a dang-nasty motivational speech on top o’ your usual goody-goody antics,” Pepper Jack raised his arms. “But I gots a dish to make!”

From above their heads came a glow like the sun, almost enraged in its wisps of heat. An egg the size of a small house, nestled in light and flame was suspended from cables turning red from the touch. It hovered and teetered over a vat of chili, the concoction bubbling beneath its surface. The group stared on as it lowered, blazing at the first touch of the liquid in rejection. Cody blinked; the last ingredient for the chili.

The ingredient.

“That’s it… that’s it!” Cody stammered. “The ingredients. He needs that egg to complete the chili, but what if we changed the recipe? Add more things?”

“Yeah, I really don’t think that rank could taste any worse…” Spyro moved back still clutching his stomach.

“But we can make it better. We can change the chili, s-so it isn’t harmful, maybe it can even help us!” Cody turned to the newest Portal Master. “Pablo, do you think you can help me make a new dish?”

“Does sopapilla and tres leches make the perfect dessert combination!?” 

“Um…”

“The answer’s yes!”

“Sounds like we got a plan.” Elf twirled her blades behind her. “What do you need us to do?”

Atop the vats was where the young heroes’ plan was set into motion. A puff of green flashed as Elf and Pablo moved along the upper grates towards the vats of chili pumping back and forth between themselves and the main vats. The ninja had a bag of vegetables and spices over her shoulder as the frizzy-haired boy leapt onto the rim of the vat grinning madly. He held bottles of liquids in both hands breathing in the steam.

“Let’s get cooking!”

Back below ground Pepper Jack had hardly noticed the shortage of Skylanders as he emptied his stock of supplies as arsenal towards those who remained. Cody weathered the blasts with his shield as Eruptor and Spyro were at his sides with streams of fire as a counter. A line of blasts blurred vision and accuracy between both sides.

“Just a little more time…”

Pepper Jack growled. “Time’s up! Let’s see how my super-catastrophe chili turned out, shall we?” 

Plugging his launcher to the vat above, the cables holding the egg snapped. Though as it fell, a bite of green appeared by the orange hue knocking the egg away. Stealth Elf landed on the rim staring triumphantly down at the Doom Raider. Pepper Jack scowled madly and turned back to the remaining three.

“I’ll fix that later! My chili’s still strong enough to knock you out but good!” He fired, the stream aimed this time for Eruptor. Gallons of the rancid food poured into his mouth.

“Eruptor!” Everyone screamed.

The rock creature stopped, braced in his spot. He didn’t move or speak. Pepper Jack grinned with a stroke of his beard.

Until…

“That… is some GOOD EATIN’!” Eruptor stood with a brilliant glow. His stubs shone like sunlight.

He aimed his stubs and unleashed a gale of fire, flames upon flames in a never-ending blast. Pepper Jack was blown to the wall, his screams muffled by the blaze. Surrounding metal melted into mush and the vats crashed into each other, machinery fell into the ground, a shower of pipes and tanks upon one another.

In the center, once the blast was done, was Pepper Jack. His red surface burnt black, he collapsed.

“Raise your spoons, fellow chefs!” Pablo stood knee forward on the wreckage. “Somos los reyes de la cocina!!”

The group raised their arms and cheered in triumph. Elf and Eruptor huddled around the two Portal Masters for their victory; between Cody’s strategy and Pablo’s new powers there was celebration in the air like the scent of the admittedly tasty chili. The boy was surprised at how it took such a turnaround after Spyro’s reaction.

Speaking of Spyro, the dragon was away from the group. Wings down and head drooped, Cody felt a near barrier between him and everyone else. He stepped with caution with a hand to his arm.

“Spyro… um…”

The dragon huffed. Cody startled and stepped back. They remained in the pause of the moment, Cody worried that the dragon may bite off his head.

“…Right.” He sighed. He reached for his pack and, out of the others’ sights, pulled a crystal from the case. “I’ll just…”

“AAAAAAHHH!!”

Katelyn’s shriek blew away the heat, only for it to go cold as the Skylanders turned. The girl was now in the slimy grip of Gulper, the giant blob. How in two worlds’ names they could have missed a creature like that sneaking up behind them was beyond anyone’s guess.

“You beat Pepper Jack!” The blob growled. “That mean no more soda! Gulper want soda!”

“Let go of me, you-you thing!” Katelyn cried.

“Hold on!” Stealth Elf aimed her blades. “This creep’s got nothing!”

“That right! Gulper got nothing! Gulper want soda! SODA!!!”

Gulper slithered out the door when they came. His bellows echoed from the hall joined by the screams of any victims caught in the wake of his quest for the fizzy drink. They followed to find the blob tearing over tables and throwing machines out the window. The floor became a labyrinth of turned-over tables, wood and metal bits and broken glass.

Stealth Elf dodged over every piece, a perfect finger and toe landing on every space in between. She landed atop a table’s edge to see the chefs running in circles as Gulper tore on. She shouted at her highest volume.

“Everyone, remain calm! Head for the exit, find shelter, and contact the Skylanders!” She pointed to the open doors. “We’ll keep Gulper occupied as long as we can until backup arrives!”

“Who needs backup!?”

Spyro took the charge as though Pepper Jack’s punishment wasn’t enough. He took in a breath and launched a fireball into the body of the beast. There was a hiss of steam loud enough to wake the dead, but as the smog cleared, nothing.

“Nice, Spyro!” Eruptor shouted. “What do you got next, nasty nicknames?”

“Never underestimate the power of a nasty nickname,” Pablo finger-wagged. “I think my yucky thing got that pepper-head really steamed… Ooh, steamed pepper!”

“Everyone, I believe he’s found the beverages!”

Katelyn’s guess was correct as Gulper continued his rampage into the kitchen. He was quick to reduce it to much the same way as the dining hall, stoves overturned and pots flying. He smiled opening a back door to a room filled with kegs of every beverage, dripping tantalizing liquid that made him lick his lips.

“This is bad, this is really bad!” Elf said.

A few moments was all the Doom Raider blob needed to devour every last drop in the room. Heavy tremors rumbled throughout the zeppelin almost rocking with a heavy dose of liquid. The walls crumbled, bits falling atop their heads, and soon entire cucks crashed to the floor. From the doorway to the kitchen, a massive watery hand coated in barnacles reached out, barely missing them. It crashed through the main entrance and into the town.

Gulper’s watery body broke through the open windows and cracks. As the team ran out, they saw the ship cracked in two as the Doom Raider emerged twice its size. Katelyn, still in his grip, was just barely visible with her head sticking above his fingers. The rest of her body was submerged in his watery girth.

“Katelyn!” Cody cried.

Mabus in the city screamed and ran away. The monster roared with his gassy breath sending stragglers flying.

“I saw a movie like this once!” Pablo cried. “There was a skyscraper, airplanes, and there may or may not been a huge bushel of bananas as a peace offering.”

“I don’t think she can survive in there for long!” Elf cried. “We got to bring him down, no peace offerings!”

“Gulper still thirsty! Want more soda!”

Water pooled from his free hand and hardened, taking color and form as a jewel-encrusted trident. He hurled it down upon the Skylanders. Its tip stopped short if its target as Cody’s shield pushed it back, the force like a waterfall with endless pressure pushing him to his knees.

The Skylanders attacked in full force, blasting every inch of the blob’s body. Steam hissed and the blob wavered, but three waves of fire and explosions meant nothing upon a near endless-volume of water. Stealth Elf leapt atop debris slashing with her blades, but had no greater effect than splashing in the water. She warped over every inch as the others did making her way up his body to the ceiling of a nearby building. The elven ninja turned to the girl still in his grip.

“Katelyn! Don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine!”

“It doesn’t seem very fine from where I’m standing!” She screamed. “I did want to get away from my suitors but I never imagined but to think it would lead to being in the grip of a soda-crazed monster!”

“You’re going to be all right! We’ll find a way to take this guy down and save you!”

She struggled and weaved in the blob’s hand. She sighed in defeat.

“… Don’t.”

Elf blinked her empty eyes. “What?”

“Why are you even bothering at all? You have no reason to help me. We aren’t friends, we aren’t even acquaintances. I know nothing more than your name in the half an afternoon I’ve spent here.”

“That doesn’t matter!” She ran to the edge of the rooftop. “Skylanders always help those in need, friends or not!”

“I’ve been taught to think of others in the same way, yet all I do is smile, nod and wave to answer them.” The young heiress looked away. “Saving me now will give you nothing. Just protect the townspeople...”

Gulper turned to the two girls with a scowl. “You noisy! Gulper want soda, but Gulper can settle on something else!”

The blob raised his hand and tossed the girl in. Her screams were drowned as she fell into the literal belly of the beast.

“Katelyn!”

Cody watched the entire trade to the moment she began to drown in Gulper’s stomach. That old weak knees feeling came to him again. Katelyn let pride keep her from being saved, something he couldn’t understand, and yet, in his heart of hearts, he did. A dark whisper from somewhere within that some things were beyond saving. The boy blocked it out as the Doom Raider’s trident came with another push.

Blinking, he saw Elf warping to Gulper’s stomach slashing and tearing into the water. Her blades waded only inches into the depth before waved pooled and reformed at the slashes. She popped again and again, her slashes and form lost in the abundance of green smoke.

She jammed her blades into his belly. “Katelyn! Just hold on! Hold on!”

The girl didn’t open her eyes. She gave no sign of acknowledgement.

Elf and Cody could both see it from where they stood. Two different points and yet they saw the same vision of a dignified young lady who held her head high as some martyr. She was able to stand on her own two feet and make her own decisions no matter what a fluffy dress and perfectly-styled hair suggested of her. There was no spite or arrogance in her words, no recklessness in how she slapped away a savior’s hand. She was resigned to her fate.

That was something Cody, who spent five years in a cold house all by himself, understood. The fact that his life was his to do with as he pleased.

Elf understood as well, though she had a much different response. “All right then. Save yourself.”

The girl understood those words. Her eyes opened, an with them came a twinkle of green.

“GULPER WANT… huh!?”

The blue pools inside his stomach glowed a turquoise then to a full green. Beams rippled and burst out, spotlights towards the ends of the sky. The girl in the center floated to the edge, emerging as if from a shallow pool. Magic lifted her body almost possessive as she turned to the Doom Raider.

“Gulper want soda! Gulper want food! Gulper want-“

“Quiet.”

She slapped her hand. A wave of green magic emerged with glowing petals in its wake knocking the behemoth blob to the ground. His crash knocked several buildings over.

The girl returned to the earth. As if woken from a trance, she looked to her hands. “What? How did I-“

Elf appeared beside her. “That makes three.”

In that moment, Katelyn gave no sign she’d heard the elf’s words. However, a small smile crossed her face as she stared on at her hands. They seemed capable of so much more now.

Cody and the others joined them. He looked at her as if it was a different person, worlds apart from that sense of relation a minute ago. Croaks were all that came from his throat. 

Spyro hopped in. “Okay, girl power or whatever. There’s still big and ugly over there.”

“I think he’s had a little too much to eat today,” Katelyn spoke. “Frankly he’s shown terrible manners as well.”

“Normally I’d say too much food is impossible, but I’ll make an exception this time!” Pablo added.

“So what say we give this uninvited dinner guest the boot?” Stealth Elf said.

“Let’s do it!” Eruptor finished.

The four made two teams charged as one and scattered as Gulper bared his trident. Katelyn slapped and pushed it aside with a crescent of petals. Eruptor rocketed himself and Pablo over to the blob’s right and the two fired on his wrist. The barnacles on it shattered and the Gulper roared dropping his trident. Katelyn and Elf warped from point to point and the girl spun with another wave, the force blasting her elven partner up. The magic stung the blob as Elf landed a direct cut on his face.

From both sides they charged, magic and fire and slashes merging into two simultaneous blasts. They pressed at Gulper’s sides, squeezing him and forcing his contents up to his stomach. Like a fountain, Gulper spat out the gallons of soda he’d ingested. It rained upon the wrecked town as the Doom Raider shrunk to an enlarged weed.

“All Gulper wanted…” he wheezed, “…was some soda.”

A roar of engines and whirring of blades came. The Skylanders and Gulper all turned to see a fleet of stylized vehicles approaching from the air. Some had wheels of fire or hulls of bones, and some had scythe-like blades or rotating spikes. The common link between all was a Skylander at the helm and missiles aimed and fired. They all entered the blob’s maw diving into his stomach. In a chain they exploded, rocking the blob towards the edge of the island.

Just as Gulper fell, Cody ran. Short of breath from battle and fumbling among his pack’s contents, he’d just managed to grab the right crystal. The blue glow emerged and swirled around Gulper just as he tipped over.

As the light cleared, he was no more.

He breathed in relief. “That was too close…”

Spyro was at his side staring at the crystal. For whatever reason, the dragon had a less than satisfied look on his face.

“Perhaps you’d like to share with all of us how close?”

The group turned to the stern face and pointed beak of Jet-Vac and the other Skylanders. They had settled their vehicles amongst the gathered crowd and were staring pointedly at the group. The bird-man’s foot tapped impatiently.

Cody gulped. 

.

From a nearby alley between two wrecked buildings, Kaos emerged from a trash can. He hopped out as Glumshanks crawled out with his master’s boot prints over him. The evil Portal Master chuckled darkly as he pulled the book from his robe.

“It’s true, Glumshanks! My theory has been proven true.”

“You were actually right about something?” Glumshanks set the lid on and dusted himself. “I’ll be sure to alert the media.

The book in Kaos’s hands glowed, a mix of blue and red upon its front cover. His eyes reflected the swirl of magic with a power-hungry glow. His smile grew more crooked.

Glumshanks stepped behind him, oblivious. “So what now?”

“Patience my good troll. Everything is going according to plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As many predicted, we have two new Portal Masters and their partners on hand. For their first time out this team did pretty good. Cody and Spyro however got a bit of a kick in the confidence, as if Cody needed any less of that. As for Kaos, he’s got a bit of trouble brewing himself. Who knows what any of it will lead to.
> 
> Sorry I wasn’t able to do an author’s note last chapter. I got myself all turned around last week having done two chapters in the same week. This was written and completed by last Saturday, and by then I hadn’t even noticed it was so late when I posted the last one. My schedule was completely out of whack.
> 
> Anyway, by the time of this chapter’s posting, the next couple should be done as well. Those will be posted soon. This is probably for the better so I can get this story completed sooner. Thanks for your patience.
> 
> Everyone guessed correctly when they saw Pablo and Katelyn were going to be Portal Masters themselves. As for Cody standing up for himself, that will come too. The next chapter will set the stage for the following where Cody will really show some guts and Spyro will get the wake-up call he needs. I am really looking forward to posting that chapter – it was one of my favorites in the planning stage.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this piece, the first chapter always seems to be the hardest, but I think this one turned out okay for the most part. A lot of this chapter was experimentation in terms of a lot of writing techniques and ideas for what I want to happen in the story. If there are some questions you have, feel free to ask and I’ll try and answer them.
> 
> Anyway for the main concern this is more or less based in the Skylanders Academy universe, with some elements of the games sprinkled in. More or less, the Netflix series was my main entry into Skylanders while I’ve just noticed the games from afar. Another thing of note is that this takes place while Spyro and the others are still students, because I was honestly sure that was how the show was going to be – instead, it starts with Spyro, Elf, and Eruptor as graduates getting ready to take on the Skylands. I’m going to try and do everything here justice.
> 
> Again, I hope everyone enjoys this work. The next chapter will be coming soon; I am trying to get a routine for writing all hammered out. Until then!


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